


Weed and Tequila

by Chlodxyeah



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Adult Peter Parker, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Angst, BAMF Peter Parker, Bodyguard Wade Wilson, Confident Peter Parker, Endgame who???, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Infinity War did not happen, Irondad, M/M, Mentioned Gwen Stacy, My timeline is all over the place, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker has issues with authority, Peter Parker is 23, Shitty Pop Culture References, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Spideypool - Freeform, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Texting, Thanos? Idk her, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is trying his best, Wade Wilson is Supportive af, Wade Wilson is Trying to be Better, Wade Wilson is a Good Bro, eventual identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-01-15 00:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18487219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chlodxyeah/pseuds/Chlodxyeah
Summary: Someone wants Spider-Man dead and Tony Stark refuses to let that happen. Deadpool tags along for the ride.COMPLETE.





	1. You’re the best

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> So I haven't been entirely consistent with which version of Spider-Man this is based on, so feel free to picture whoever you want!  
> This was also originally going to be a lot longer, with a lot more chapters, but I decided just to leave it as a oneshot for now and I'll decide whether to continue it later.  
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Edit) Decided to carry on with this! I’ve got a couple of chapters written out now n a storyline in my brain, updates will be on Saturdays & tags n description will be updated as needed. Thank you for the super sweet comments!

Peter wasn’t sure how long he’d been swinging. The tall apartment buildings of queens blurred into the buildings of Brooklyn and soon, Peter wasn’t even sure where he was.

People always say that you pick between two instincts in a crisis. Fight or flight. With Peter it was different, the choice was almost always taken away from him. If he didn’t choose fight people got hurt and that wasn’t something he could have on his conscience.

The fight that had him swinging through the streets of New York City had been brief and to the point. Bad guys were mugging a helpless old man and Peter had to stop it. He didn’t know who had stabbed him, all he knew was that the knife had knocked the air out of him and the men had time to get away.

Peter had made sure the old man was safe before he swung away. Maybe that was the flight instinct kicking in?

He could feel his blood hot against his stomach as the cold wind slammed into him. He wasn’t even sure where he was heading. He couldn’t go to Aunt May’s, she would have a fucking field day lecturing him about how irresponsible he was. He couldn’t tell Tony Stark, he would take the suit away again.

And so Peter just swung, from building to building. From Manhattan, through Queens, through Brooklyn, heading nowhere and feeling terrible.

His vision was beginning to haze slightly, and Peter knew that it was time to begrudgingly ask for help. His lungs were burning.

That’s when Peter slipped. His right hand reached for the web in front of him, but it was an inch too far from his outstretched fingertips. The next few moments seemed to go in slow motion as Peter frantically tried and failed to latch his webs onto something - **ANYTHING** \- before he fell.

That’s when he collided with a large window. Spider-Man vs a window.

The window won.

Glass sprayed everywhere, cutting into Peter’s thighs and hands and face and Pete could only think about how stupid he had been not to call Tony sooner as the glass dug into his palms. He rolled into an apartment with a thump, a coffee table slowing his roll. Even through the pain he could smell the distinct stench of weed and tequila.

“Spidey? What the fucking shitballs are you doing?” Was the last thing Peter heard before he blacked out.

\--------------------------------------------------

When Peter awoke he was confused and sat up quickly from where he lay. The sharp pain in his stomach brought the night’s events rushing back to him. He had been stabbed. Right. He’d crashed into some random man’s apartment window. Right. Fuck.

The bed was comfortable underneath him and the room was lit with morning sun. So he’d been out all night. Okay. He was suddenly glad that he no longer lived with Aunt May otherwise he was sure she’d have had the entire police force looking for him right now.

A large bandage covered his midsection and he could feel the tight pull of stitches underneath the gauze. His suit was folded on a chair at the foot of the bed and Peter was dressed in an oversized pair of sweatpants, he checked under them and was relieved to find that his underwear were still in place. He noticed a couple more band aids along his arms and Peter once again let out a sigh of relief when he found that his mask was still firmly on his face, albeit with a couple of rips around the jawline.

Whoever’s apartment he was in had preserved his identity, dressed his wounds and let him sleep in their bed. Maybe falling through this particular window had been fate.

Peter tentatively pulled himself out of the strangers bed and shrugged the sweatpants off, quickly pulling on his own slightly torn and bloody suit. The apartment was small and it didn’t take long to find the main living space. It was an open plan living room with a kitchen to the opposite side, a long breakfast bar ran through the middle of the room. There were a few pizza boxes piled up and a box full of empty tequila bottles on the floor. A bong sat in the middle of the kitchen counter. That explained the smell.

A tall man snored quietly on the sofa to the side of the room.

The clock on the wall read 6:07am. Holy shit. He had fallen through the window at around 11:30pm the previous evening, nearly 7 hours prior, he couldn’t remember the last time he had slept for an entire seven hours.

Peter glanced at the window he’d smashed. It had since been covered in a large piece of cardboard, sun filtered through holes in the card and lit up parts of the wooden floor of the apartment. The glass had been cleaned and the coffee table was pushed back in its original position.

Guilt panged high in Peter’s stomach as he padded quietly over to the kitchen, rolled up his mask and stuck his head under the faucet, gulping the water down eagerly. Damn, being stabbed was thirsty work.

“The glasses are in the cupboard to your left, Spidey.” The deep voice startled Peter and he pulled his head from the sink quickly, knocking his chin on the faucet painfully.

“Fuck…” Peter groaned and rolled his mask down, he rubbed his chin lightly as he turned toward the man. The person in front of him was taller than he had originally thought, maybe 6’4, a good 6 inches taller than Peter. He was dressed in dark sweatpants and a large hoodie that shielded his face a little. Through the shadows of the room Peter could only see the man’s mouth and chin, a smirk played on the man’s lips, the smile seemed to contrast against the textured skin of the rest of his lower face.

He could only imagine that the rest of his skin was scarred in the same way. Maybe he’d been in a fire. Peter lowered his eyes, realising he’d been staring.

“Thank you for… well, everything.” Peter pointed at his bandaged stomach sheepishly and offered his hand for the man to shake.

“You’re welcome, Spidey. Give me one sec, I just need to get dressed.” The man ignored Peter’s extended hand and backed out of the room quickly. Peter shrugged and turned to get a glass out of the cupboard. It took four full glasses of water before the thirst he felt began to subside. He hoped this was a good thing and that now he’d begin to heal properly. His healing factor was usually incredibly fast, but sometimes it just needed that extra kick to get it working properly.

A deep voice startled him again and he spun on his heels. God, his Spidey senses were shit today.

“The name’s Deadpool. Not that I didn’t want to meet you or anything, but why the fuck did you crash through my window last night? Was someone superheroing while intoxicated?” The man sang the last question.

Peter squinted at the leather clad, masked man in front of him. Deadpool. Fuck. Tony had warned Peter about Deadpool. The scars! It all made sense now.

“Speechless, Spidey? I know, I am a sight to behold. All this tight leather.” Deadpool drawled, placing one hand behind his head and one on his waist. “Is leather a fetish of yours?” He continued. Deadpool spoke so confidently that it made Peter’s head spin, he could almost see the man smirking under the mask.

“N-No. No.” Peter managed to sputter out, he cleared his throat and tried to speak again. “It’s just that, I’ve heard of you. You didn’t sound like the type of guy who would…” His sentence trailed off and Peter once again gestured to his stomach and then towards Deadpool’s bedroom. Peter hoped he understood what he meant as words weren’t really his forte at the moment.

Deadpool feigned shock and placed a hand on his heart.

“The betrayal! I thought us suit wearers had to stick together! Not that I’m complaining that you’re in my apartment though Spidey, I’m a big fan. ” Despite his words, Deadpool didn’t actually seem insulted by what Peter had said and he was glad for it. Whatever reputation DP had previously had inside Peter’s head had now been overridden by the man’s generosity and kindness in helping the Spider in a crisis.

“Thank you for helping me, really.” Peter said once again, more sincerely this time. “Some guy got a little stabby on patrol last night. I should probably get out of your hair though.” Deadpool barked a laugh.

“My hair…” He sighed and giggled again. Peter ignored the outburst and continued quickly.

“Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?” He asked and Deadpool handed him a pad of sticky notes and a pink sharpie that he pulled from a pocket in his suit.

“This is my number. My Spider-Man number anyway. I’ll pay you for the window damages, just text me with the details and I’ll swing by with the money.”

Peter didn’t wait for Deadpool’s reply and hastily let himself out through the front door, yelling a quick “Thanks again, you’re the best!” over his shoulder as he left the apartment. He wasn’t going to risk swinging too much right now, especially not out of the window he’d broken.

Peter felt a little guilty for leaving the apartment so abruptly, but also felt guilty even being there, so they kind of cancelled each other out. He stayed mostly to rooftops on his way home, following street signs and staying out of sight. He could feel the wound on his stomach closing and the stitches were pulling slightly and slowing his movements.

Peter’s apartment was just how he left it and it felt like a strange juxtaposition to the mess of both the previous night’s events and Deadpool’s apartment. Peter picked up his iPhone from where he’d left it on charge and dropped onto his bed.

4 texts.

Aunt May - Hope you’re being safe. Come for dinner soon, I’m thinking Indian food. Xxx

Peter smiled fondly and replied.

  * **You’re always thinking Indian food. I’ll be round on Tuesday xx**



Tony Stark - **_Hey kid. Just seen a video on YouTube of you smashing into somebody’s window. If I don’t hear from you within the next 12 hours I’m going to assume you’re dead and finally make a move on Aunt May. Hope you’re dead._**

Tony Stark - _**Happy told me that was rude. I don’t really hope you’re dead.**_

Tony Stark - **_You better not be fucking dead._**

Peter laughed loudly. He’d known Tony Stark for years now and had grown rather close to him. Peter would never admit it to the older man but he thought of him as somewhat of a father figure. Obviously nobody could ever replace Uncle Ben, but Tony had done a damn good job of pulling him out of the dark hole that losing both Uncle Ben and Gwen had left him in.

He typed out his reply and hit send.

  * **Not dead. All fine. Don’t touch Aunt May, she’s off limits. I met Deadpool this morning by the way, strange guy. X**



While he waited for Tony to reply Peter dug in the bottom drawer of his dresser and pulled out his Spidey phone that the older man had built for him, it was encrypted in way that was impossible to hack. It was definitely the coolest thing that Peter owned. Well, maybe joint first with his web-shooters. There were two texts waiting for him.

Unknown number - _Can’t believe u gave me ur number, Spidey-babe. Gonna have to tell Tumblr about this!!!_

Unknown number - _Not gonna share ur number obvs, just gonna let the Spideypool fans know that it's finally canon ;) xox_

Peter stared at the phone in his hands, he’d almost forgotten that he’d given Deadpool his number and he certainly didn’t expect him to have text him already! He read through the texts again, but could still only half understand what was being said to him. Was tumblr still a thing? He hadn’t gone on it since his shameful Superwholock days when he was an angsty teen, but that phase wasn’t to be mentioned. And what on earth is Spideypool? Peter hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.

Peter got the sudden urge to call Gwen. His best friend. God he missed her, she’d know exactly what to say. _Fuck_.

Pete slipped in the shower before his mind could fall into the hole once more. He checked his wounds over a he pulled the gauze away and dropped it in the trash can next to the shower. The cuts on his arms, face and thighs had cleared up nicely and Peter could practically see the skin of his stomach knitting itself back together. The stitches themselves were neat and extremely well done, 6 lines in a white thread, all cut close to his skin, a lot better than the stitches he’d done on himself before. Under the wound a squiggle of pink caught his eye, now washing away under the stream of water, had Deadpool written something on him?

It took a while before Peter finally felt clean, the stress of the events the previous night seemed to swirl down the drain with the water and, after a long time, Peter pulled himself out of the rapidly cooling stream. He finally felt relaxed.

He didn’t have work today, it was his day off and he was eternally happy for it. The Daily Bugle had very recently hired him as their head of photography, it was a lot better than freelance work, even if the majority of the articles on his super alter-ego were lies. He'd tried to get a photography job elsewhere, but in today's economy nowhere was looking to hire a 23 year old graduate, they wanted _experience_ but Peter didn't understand how they expected people to gain said experience if no one was hiring. 

The shrill of his phone ringing pulled him from his relaxation with a start.

“Hello?” Peter answered quickly, pulling a towel around his waist as if somebody could see him.

“Pete.” It was Tony Stark. “You met Deadpool? And lived to tell the tale? Please tell me you didn’t speak to him.”

Peter relayed some of the night’s events to Tony. Leaving out the fact he’d given Deadpool his number, some things he just didn’t need to know.

“Jesus, kid. I need to build you a new suit, stab proof, bullet proof, the works. I can’t believe you didn’t call me. You’re an adult now, I can’t believe you didn’t call me because you thought I'd take the suit. You’re 23, you’re old enough to make your own mistakes and be in charge of your own punishments.”

“I know, but I-” Peter started, but Tony quickly interrupted him.

“That being said, I don’t want you seeing Deadpool again. The guy is trouble. Got it, kid?”

“You know, the whole ‘I’m an adult’ thing is pretty difficult to do when you keep calling me 'kid'.” Peter sighed loudly, there was no use arguing with Tony, he was the most stubborn man he’d even known.

“Duly noted. Gotta go, kid, I have an interview to get to, I’ll try and mention how shit the Bugle is while I’m there.” Tony hung up before Peter could say his goodbyes and instead he pulled on some comfortable clothes, careful not to wear anything too form fitting over his stomach.

Pete’s mind was moving a million miles a minute. Was Deadpool really as bad as Tony thought he was? Sure, he had a reputation as a mercenary, but from what Peter had heard he hadn't done that in a very long time. The last Peter was told was that he was now working with the X-Men. Also, regardless of who he worked with, if Deadpool was such a terrible person then he wouldn't have helped Peter out, wouldn't have stitched him up and let him sleep in his bed, right? Right?

Peter slowly came to the conclusion that he must have a serious issue with authority as he lifted the Spidey phone and typed out a quick message.

  * **Iron Man is not happy that we’ve met. Also what did you write on my stomach?**



He left it at that. Peter quickly saved the Mercenary’s number under ‘DP.’

Tony was upset and had specifically asked him not to see Deadpool again. But he had also reminded Peter that he was an adult and could make his own mistakes. It was only seconds after Peter had hit send that the phone vibrated in his hand, drawing his attention.

DP - _Forget about IronDaddy. You said u wanted to pay me back for the window. I don’t want ur money, I don’t need it. Wanna buy me tacos instead? I can meet u this evening, anywhere u want to?? And as for ur tummy, every artist has gotta sign his work, right?_

A smile spread across Peter’s face before he even realised it was happening. Yes. Fuck it. Tacos with Deadpool. Tacos with a mercenary. Shit. Before he could stop himself Peter was typing a reply.

  * **Tacos. Sure. Meet me on the rooftop of that Mexican food joint on w 48th in Hell’s Kitchen at 7.**
  * **Oh, and Deadpool? Please don’t tell Tumblr about this.**



 


	2. Sirens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tacos, Deadpool and an angry Iron Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to continue! Pls be kind, I know my writing style isn't for everyone :)  
> Again, I've not been consistent with which Spidey actor I'm using, so feel free to picture whoever you want!  
> I'm also in two minds as to whether to write in Deadpool's boxes or not.  
> Anywho, this chapter is even longer than the first, enjoy!

Tacos with Deadpool didn’t go to plan.

In Peter’s mind it was going to be simple. Meet Deadpool. Express his thanks again. Eat tacos. Leave within an hour.

That isn’t how it went down.

The afternoon dragged by slowly, slower than Peter cared to admit. Tony Stark’s words continued to spin around his brain as he attempted to repair the holes in his Spidey-suit.

‘The guy is trouble. Got it, kid?’

Peter didn’t doubt this, but wanted to understand the judgement firsthand. During the regular breaks he took from sewing he had searched the internet for any information on Deadpool. He could find surprisingly little about the mercenary and Peter suspected that maybe the lack of information was purposeful. After all, Tony also regularly deleted incorrect information about himself from the internet. The younger man had caught him doing it once. A small gossip website had posted photoshopped pictures of Iron Man and the Hulk in rather… compromising positions. Peter found it funny, Tony did not.

Pete glanced at the clock. 6:30pm. Fuck, time to leave Here goes nothing.

He pulled the repaired suit on in an alley and webbed his regular clothes in a backpack high on the alley wall, out of reach. The day off had done Peter a world of good and he found that he could no longer feel the pull of the stomach wound as he swung.

The restaurant he had chosen was one Peter frequented often. The owner was wonderful.

A couple of months ago Spider-Man and Daredevil had the pleasure of helping the owner, David, out of a very toxic partnership with the co-owner of the restaurant and, due to Peter’s helping hand, David had offered him free tacos for life. The offer was very sweet, but Peter didn’t accept it. Not that David knew that. When the owner’s back was turned Peter swiftly placed enough bills to cover the tab, as well as an extra $20, under the tip jar. David deserved it.

Once on the rooftop Tony Stark’s word’s filled his head again and Peter found himself almost unable to rationalise what he was doing there.

Tony Stark was his mentor. His friend. His hero.

Guilt panged high in his stomach for the third time that day and Peter knew he was doing something wrong. Tony had SPECIFICALLY asked him not to see Deadpool again, but here he was, sat on a rooftop waiting for the murderer-for-hire. Peter swung his legs nervously over the edge of the building.

Was it too late to bail? He could just leave the tacos and swing away? Right? That would be okay, _right_? Or would it just anger the mercenary and leave Peter with a killer on his bad side? Shit, fuck, bal-

Shuffling sounds behind him pulled Peter from his internal dilemma and he turned his head just in time to see the comedic sight of Deadpool flopping onto the rooftop, landing in a pile with his head at the bottom. Peter's choice had been made for him. Deadpool was here, he couldn’t exactly leave now.

Despite his moral quandary Peter chuckled loudly as DP attempted to untangle himself from the mess of limbs and stand up straight.

“Holy fucking shit, Spidey, you couldn’t have picked a building that had a ladder up to the roof?! Scaling up just by the windows is tough!” Deadpool was breathing hard, hunched over with his hands on his knees. Pete pointed to his left and waited for him to look up.

“There’s a ladder right there.” Peter deadpanned and Deadpool just fell to the floor, covering his masked face with his hands. The younger man laughed again and as the sound left his mouth he felt some of his anxiety and guilt lessen.

Peter shook the bag full of food and Deadpool uncovered his face instantly and looked up.

“Tacos?” He asked tentatively. Peter nodded and shook the bag once more. “You’re the best!” Deadpool repeated Peter’s words from that morning.

Eating with Deadpool was a strange affair and Peter was glad that he’d picked up a double the order he usually did. Without hesitation Deadpool rolled up his mask to just above his nose, grabbed two tacos from the bag and practically inhaled them. He moaned obscenely and Peter was mortified to feel himself blushing under his mask. Peter pulled out a taco for himself and rolled his mask up slightly too, he could feel Deadpool watching him as he ate.

Deadpool seemed to have an amazing ability to multitask, he managed to stuff down three more tacos all while staring at Peter’s uncovered lower face and blabbering about everything under the sun.

It was almost easy to tune out the mercenary's voice. Almost.

“I thought you were older.” Was the only sentence that managed to push its way through Peter’s cloudy brain as he tried his hardest to focus on eating and not get wrapped up in the whirlwind that was Deadpool. Swallowing the last of his third taco Pete replied before he had time to think.

“And I thought you killed people for a living.”

 **Shit**.

Peter regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth and clenched his eyes shut hard. It was like the entire world stood still. New York City went quiet under the tension between the two men. The air grew thick and dense. The coil of hostility grew tighter and tighter and _tighter_ until suddenly… Deadpool burst into laughter.

Pete’s eyes flew open to stare at him. Deadpool was clutching at his chest, one hand wiping none existent tears from the eyes of his mask. His smile was huge, his straight, white teeth seemed to shine in the low sun and Pete had a hard time looking away. It was a while before the older man calmed down.

“Jesus, kid. You’ve got guts.” Deadpool spluttered when his laughter finally died down to a small giggle.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking.” Peter muttered and rubbed his neck sheepishly, but Deadpool waved the apology off.

“Don’t apologise Spidey, having guts isn’t a bad thing. Unless they’re not yours obviously, then they’re pretty gross.”

“Still, I-”

“Spidey, shush child, the adult is talking. As for you saying I kill people for a living. Yeah! I used to anyway, Colossus has got me on a pretty tight leash at the moment. He said that if I stopped un-aliving people then he might introduce me to Captain America! So I’m pretty straight edge nowadays, murder-wise anyway.”

Peter was quiet through Deadpool’s speech, he was constantly being interrupted by men older than him and decided it was easier to just keep his mouth shut. Regardless, he couldn’t help but feel a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He knew he’d made the right decision, knew in his gut that the same person who’d dressed his wounds and preserved his identity couldn’t be ALL bad. If Deadpool noticed the smile he said nothing. 

“So…” Deadpool continued. “Tell me about yourself. I know all the fan theories and everything online, but something tells me that none of that is true.” Peter was a little taken aback, there were fan theories? He really needed to invest some more time on his social media presence.

“What do you want to know?” He questioned. Introducing himself had always made him uncomfortable. On his first day of college his Bio Chem professor had gone round the class and asked all the students to introduce themselves and tell the class a ‘fun fact.’ The only thing Peter had managed to sputter was 'Hi, I’m Peter Parker and I have the entire Backstreet Boys discography on vinyl.' He didn’t make many friends in that class.

“How old are you? What’s your favourite colour? Who’s your favourite superhero? Favourite band? What’s your sexuality? In my apartment you said you’d heard of me, what have you heard? Do you have any pets?” Deadpool rushed the questions out and sat cross legged facing Spider-Man expectedly.

“Wow, sounds like you’re trying to guess my bank password. Lucky for you, my passwords are more complicated than that.” He smirked at Deadpool and the mercenary smiled back, politely waiting. It was strange to see Deadpool sitting so still, he couldn’t imagine that it wasn’t something he did often.

“I’m 23 years old. My favourite colour is red. My favourite superhero is Iron Man, or maybe Scarlet Witch. My favourite band changes often, but currently... Probably Radiohead. I’m gay. I’d heard that you were a mercenary, a dangerous guy and that if I should ever come across you I should swing away as fast as I could. What was the last question?”

Peter and Deadpool spoke for a long time. At some point in the night they had both pulled their masks back down, although Peter couldn't help but wish he could see Deadpool's smile again. For some reason it was incredibly easy to talk to the older man. He’d learned that Deadpool’s real name was Wade, (Peter had kept his own identity secret, of course) he was 34 and his favourite tv show was The Golden Girls, as well as a handful of other 'fun facts' about the mercenary. Before Peter knew it, it was 10pm and darkness surrounded the two. It was serene and happy and Peter found himself wishing that he didn’t have to go home, but alas, he had work at 8am and needed to get a little patrolling done first. He felt slight butterflies in his stomach as he realised that he’d actually made a new friend. One that didn’t care that he still loved the Backstreet Boys and that Queer Eye made him sob.

A small beeping sound interrupted Deadpool’s final offer of maiming whoever Spider-Man worked for so he could hang out longer, the sound faded into the background like an alarm on a wrist watch. Peter barely noticed it, too content listening to Deadpool complain about the horrible jobs he had as a teenager. The worst being a cleaner at a gas station, cleaning bathrooms for $9 an hour, apparently.

Suddenly, Peter had no choice but to notice the sound as his Spidey-sense blared and he had all of three seconds to drag Deadpool up to his feet and pull them both off the side of the rooftop.

The explosion shook the building.

It blew out the windows and pulled down part of the roof. A large plume of smoke rose from the exact space the two men were sitting. _What the fuck?_

Pete allowed himself five seconds of confusion before he placed Deadpool gently on the ground and ran into the restaurant to start pulling people out. It was a disaster. Smoke was everywhere, people were screaming. The only saving grace was that no one was dead, slight smoke inhalation was better than being on fire or limbless from the blast.

Peter didn’t notice until he’d pulled out the last patron that Deadpool was fussing over each person. He’d acquired bottles of water and blankets from somewhere and was seeing to all the customers, David included. Fuck. David. He hadn’t even noticed that David had managed to escape the premises while Peter was ushering out the last few people. Thank God he was okay.

“David!” He called over the roaring sound of the fire inside. “What happened?!” The man was coughing hard into a tissue, his wrinkled face was grey with smoke.

“I have no idea.” _Cough_. “I was in the kitchen when it happened.” _Cough cough_. “How could this happen? I only just got the place back.” Tears gathered in David’s eyes and Peter couldn’t help but give the man a hug. Sirens were getting louder over the sound of the fire.

“It’ll be alright David, we’ll figure something out.” He rubbed the man’s back in a soothing motion as he sobbed into Peter's suit.

“Spider-Man.” The deep voice from above him made Peter stop still in a second. His whole body tensed up. Fuck.

“Iron Man.” Peter greeted as he looked up towards the voice. The metal suit hovered above him and Peter couldn’t help but glance back at Deadpool, who was feeding a drunk hysterical woman some water. Iron Man followed the glance.

“Looks like we’ve got some things to talk about. Swing over to the tower when you're finished here. Be quick about it.”

The fire engines pulled up just as Iron Man flew away. Fuck. How was it that just a few words from Tony Stark made him feel like a scorned child again? Peter pulled himself from David’s arms and made sure he had a place to stay for the next few nights before he went to speak to Deadpool.

“Was that IronDaddy I saw? What did that sexy beast have to say for himself?” Deadpool called over the noise before Peter had a chance to speak.

“He wants me to go over to the tower when I’m done here. He didn’t seem happy with me. I kiiiiiinda promised him that I wouldn’t see you again.”

Deadpool’s hands flew to his chest and even through the mask Peter could see that his mouth was open in dramatic shock.

“You snuck out to see me behind Daddy’s back? Are we in a rom com Spidey? Oooh! You can be Zac Efron and I’ll be Vanessa Hudgens. I’VE GOT TO MOVE ON AND BE WHO I AM, I JUST DON’T BELONG HERE, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTA-“

“Wade.” Peter interrupted Deadpool’s dramatic rendition of ‘Gotta go my own way.’ “I need to leave, don’t wanna be in Tony Stark’s bad books. Can you do me a favour and wait here until the ambulances show up, just to make sure everyone gets seen? They should be here any second, I can hear the sirens.” Deadpool nodded and made a ‘mhm’ sound, but as Peter spun on his heels to leave he grabbed the younger man’s arm softly and pulled him back to face him.

“Thanks for tonight Spidey, I had fun. We should do it again some time. Maybe a time when a building doesn’t explode and you don’t crash through my window? Maybe enchiladas instead of tacos?” Even through the mask Deadpool somehow managed to look hopeful and even a little sheepish. For a second Peter just stopped and admired the emotion that could be portrayed through the mask, he’d have to ask Deadpool how he’d made it sometime.

“I’ll have to make sure than Iron Man doesn’t murder me for seeing you first, but I don’t see why not. I’ll let you know when I’ve found out what the explosion was about too. You’ve got my number.”

His web caught the side of a nearby building and Peter pulled himself away. Away from the chaos, away from the fire, away from Deadpool and toward the Avengers tower.

\-----------------------------------------------

While climbing up the side of the tower Peter had some time to reflect on the day’s events. He had woken up in Deadpool’s bed, he had agreed to meet with the mercenary for tacos, his favourite restaurant had exploded and Tony Stark was angry with him. How had this only happened in one day?

The explosion wasn’t a gas leak, it wasn’t an accident, that much Peter was sure of. His mind kept flicking back to the noise he had heard while Deadpool was talking, it had sounded close, maybe on the top floor of the building. Peter had questioned David, the owner of the restaurant, about the building occupancy before. Back when he helped with the co-owner. Peter knew that, while the restaurant only took up the ground floor and the first floor was David’s apartment and storage, the second and third floor were completely abandoned.

His first thought was that the building had been blown up for revenge by David’s ex partner, but that didn’t make any sense. If someone wanted to blow up the restaurant, why put the bomb on the top floor? Daredevil had also made sure that David was fully insured in the instance of a fire, so, while Peter knew that the restaurant would have to close, he knew that David would still be able to open up in another location. Perhaps it was a terrorist attack? Or maybe something more personal. He could only guess how many enemies Deadpool must have. But why not target him more specifically? Shoot him? Literally plant the bomb ON him?

The whole thing made zero sense.

Peter climbed in through an open window near the top of the building. He could tell Tony was angry with him, the higher the open Spidey-window, the angrier he knew the older man was. Tony Stark was particularly passive aggressive that way. The room he’d landed in was empty save a long desk and some chairs.

“Friday? Do you know where Tony is?” He asked into the empty room.

“Boss is 27 floors down, in the main lounge, as are Steve and Natasha.” The kind Irish voice filled the room. Friday was great, but Peter couldn’t help but roll his eyes before he thanked the AI, it was _so_ like Tony to leave a window open 27 floors above where he actually was.

The tower felt quiet as he rode the elevator down, even through the sounds of AC/DC coming from the walls of the lift. He guessed that not many people were staying in the building anymore. Clint had his family, Thor had Asgard, Bucky was in Wakanda and Wanda was off with Vision. He hoped Bruce was somewhere in the building though, Peter loved Bruce. Not in an 'I love you, be my boyfriend way', but more like an 'I love your brain, I wish I was as smart as you' kind of way.

When the elevator door finally opened, the main lounge was silent, save for the sound of sirens coming from the large television. The three heroes stared at Peter as he came into view.

“‘Sup?” He asked gently. Tony rounded on him quickly, fire was burning behind his eyes.

“Did you just really just say ‘sup’ to me after what just happened?” His voice was low and pointed as he stalked up to the younger man. Peter held his ground. He was an adult now, right? _Right?!_

“I know. You told me Deadpool was dangerous and I still met up with him. I’m sorry, but he really doesn’t seem as bad as you think he is.” He tried to hold his head high.

When Peter was a teenager he’d found it so hard to talk to people like this, people who disagreed with him. He’d find his voice trailing off and his hands shaking. Now, after years of dealing with criminals and lowlifes, he was definitely more confident, but still found explaining himself to Tony Stark somewhat laborious. Especially because he could feel the eyes of Captain America and Black Widow on him too.

“You’re not- you don’t- this isn’t-“ Tony stuttered. Peter had never seen Tony Stark find talking hard before.

Steve took over while the older man’s face started becoming red and flustered. Peter pulled his mask off, confused and craving the comfort of eye contact. The Avengers had known his secret identity a couple of years now, he didn’t feel self conscious anymore, at least not in front of them.

“Son.” Steve lay his hand upon Peter’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “That bomb wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a gas line or an electricity shortage.” Steve spoke matter of factly.

“I know.” Peter replied, confused to where the conversation was headed. “I knew that already, I’d narrowed it down to terrorism or somebody trying to kill Deadpool.”

“Peter, _no_. It wasn’t either of those things. We have the footage from the street camera on the corner. Son, I’ll tell you before we show you the footage but please don’t panic.” Steve spoke extremely softly, it was an incredibly large juxtaposition to the panic already rising in Peter’s stomach.

“Kid.” Tony stepped up to Peter’s left side, he shared a look with Steve before he spoke again. “The bomb was targeting you. Someone was trying to kill **you**.”

 


	3. One of those days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's POV of the day, Peter is confused and Deadpool likes to gossip about Spidey on tumblr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, so, I apologise for this mess of a chapter AND for uploading late, but I saw Endgame on Thursday and needed some time to stop crying lol. I know this one is a bit all over the place, but I hope it isn't toooo bad!  
> Pls enjoy!

Tony Stark was having _one of those days._

Sleep had eluded him during the night and, on his 24th hour of being awake, Tony was pacing around the lab sipping on his 6th cup of coffee since midnight. Part of him wished the coffee was something stronger. Sometimes he really missed drinking.

At 6am he found himself texting Peter Parker _one more time._

**_You better not be fucking dead._ **

Tony watched the video again. It had been tweeted to him under the caption “Spider-Man fail! @TonyStark get in your suit n go get him, he’s giving the avengers a bad name!!!”

He told Friday to replay the video once more. Peter had hit the window with such force that it worried Tony. He knew the kid had accelerated healing powers, but that didn’t make him immortal.

He’d spent the last few hours getting in touch with the owners of the building that Peter had fallen into. He had yelled, he had bribed and, eventually, he was informed that the apartment wasn’t even registered to anybody. According to the owner, the entire floor was filled with squatters. That information didn’t ease Tony’s nerves.

He was seconds away from getting in the suit when Peter finally replied.

 **Not dead. All fine**. Tony let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. He continued reading. **I met Deadpool this morning by the way, strange guy.**

The nonchalance of the message made Tony grind his teeth. He had warned Peter about Deadpool before. The guy was a murderer, a sadist and a **fucking idiot** as far as Tony was concerned.

Just under a year ago he had been forced to attend a meeting with Fury about the mercenary. It had been reported by Professor X that Deadpool was now a ‘changed man’ and that his killing days were over. What a fucking joke. Once a killer, always a killer. Now that killer was acquainted with Spider-Man and the more Tony thought on it, the more riled up he became.

Tony had met Peter when the boy was merely 15, a sad spider about to be washed down the drain. In Tony’s own defence, from the get go he had tried his hardest to be there for the kid in any way he could.

He had encouraged him at school, he’d given advice and let the teenager rant to him about girls. He’d been there for him when Peter stopped talking about girls altogether and tearfully told Tony that he was gay. He’d been there in the aftermath of his Uncle Ben’s death and then was front and centre when Gwen died.

Tony had watched Peter Parker go from a shy child to a confident man and, damn, did it make him feel proud.

Tony had never had the opportunity to have his own children and in some ways it made him thankful. If he had had kids he may have never become Iron Man, and if he had never become Iron Man he would have never met Peter Benjamin Parker.

Tony would never let Peter know how strongly he cared for him or how much he wished he was his own flesh and blood. The older man had never been very good at ‘feelings.’ Howard Stark had instilled upon him from a young age that showing any form of weakness - including love - was to be punished. Tony didn’t believe it himself, but some things were difficult to grow out of. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to admit how much he cared for the kid, but Tony sincerely hoped that his actions showed him how much he loved him as if he were his own child.

He called Peter then. Warned him. Reminded him how dangerous Deadpool could be. Like hell would his ki-- Peter - be hanging out with a criminal of his caliber. Tony would rather put his own life in danger than live in a world where Peter wasn’t the safest he could _possibly_ make him.

\-------------------------

The rest of Tony’s day was extremely busy and it was 10pm before he’d been able to actually sit still and relax. Not that relaxing was easy for him to do. Tony hadn’t had much time to think about Deadpool since that morning, but the mercenary had been at the back of his mind as he worked, gnawing his way through Tony’s usual rational thoughts.

Tony’s shoulders were heavy and his brain was cloudy as he sat. He tried to keep up his usual charming exterior, he was hosting after all, but it was _so_ damn difficult.

Steve and Natasha were spending a few weeks in the tower and Tony was genuinely happy to have them. After Steve and himself had rekindled their friendship Tony found himself enjoying his company more than ever before, but sometimes a day was just _too long_ and Tony could feel his host mask slipping.

“You doing okay there, Tony?” asked Steve, they were sat watching a movie in the lounge, Tony wasn’t even sure what movie it was. God, he was tired.

“Mm, fine.” He said, giving no explanation, waving off Steve’s continued question of ‘you sure?’

Not only had the day been too long, but it was one of those days where even talking felt like a chore. He just needed two aspirin and a decent night’s sleep and he would be oka-

“Boss, the Spidey protocol has been initiated. Channel 6 news.” The Irish AI’s voice interrupted Tony’s thoughts and he flicked to the news immediately. A sombre looking reporter stared back at them.

“A massive explosion just shook west 48th street in Hell’s Kitchen. Luckily for the patrons of Sombrero Mexican restaurant, New York’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man was on hand to pull everyone out of the building. As we stand there have been zero fatalities. A bystander took this footage of the blast.”

Tony watched as a shaky phone video captured a couple of seconds of Spider-Man and Deadpool talking on a rooftop before the younger man had pulled the two of them into the air and swung away just as the entire top of the building exploded.

“Although we are extremely lucky that Spider-Man was there to help rescue the customers, local New Yorkers are questioning _why_ he was seen spending time with the ex-mercenary, better known as Deadpool.”

“Deadpool, that son of a bitch!” Tony didn’t even recognise his own voice. He could hear Steve beside him but didn’t register a single word he said.

He was **done**. Tony was beyond angry. He had told Peter that Deadpool was dangerous. He had _told_ him and Peter had met up with him again less than 24 hours later. Deadpool had to be responsible for the explosion. Fuck. FUCK.

Tony was in the suit and in the air before he could even realise it. It was Deadpool’s fault. It had to be. He barely even remembered what he said to Peter when he saw him at the scene of the explosion. All he knew was that, when he was back in the tower and out of the suit, Natasha had slapped him.

“Ouch…” Tony hissed, rubbing his cheek. “What was that for?!”

“Steve and I had been talking to you and you weren’t responding.” Natasha smiled sweetly at him and Tony couldn’t help but feel his lip quirk up in response. She always was good at getting through to him.

“While you were out doing God knows what I hacked into the closest street CCTV I could find. It shows the entire explosion. I know you think it was Deadpool, but look at this.” She pointed a remote to the television and pressed play.

\------------------------

When Peter finally arrived Tony made him watch the video six times. Each time the video played the older man tensed as he saw Spider-Man pull Deadpool off the roof mere seconds before the building exploded.

The CCTV was grainy, but through facial recognition software and intense editing, Natasha had managed to spot a face in the upstairs window just below where the two men sat. The same man then climbed from a window and down the fire escape. When Tony questioned why Peter hadn’t heard the man, he didn’t respond. In reality Peter didn’t know why he hadn’t heard the man planting the bomb. Had he been _that_ distracted by his conversation with Deadpool? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and continued to listen to Natasha’s explanation of her short investigation.

Through further research Natasha had found the same man in 15 separate videos of Spider-Man. Every video Nat found showed Spider-Man in an incredibly dangerous situation. Explosions, gun fights, building fires etc. Each time Peter managed to get away last minute and the man in the video always showed what Nat had called an ‘anger microexpression.’ Both Steve and Natasha, and even Friday, had tried to explain to Peter what that meant, but mostly the whole thing went over his head. Peter was a smart guy, but the last 24 hours had been a bit too much for him and his brain felt a little dishevelled.

Tony Stark was equally worn out, but more than anything, he was angry. Peter had tried so hard to defend Deadpool and he could not for the life of him figure out why.

The older man wished the bomb had been meant for Deadpool. The mercenary was an easy target, he killed people, he had maimed and tortured hundreds, it made so much more sense. It would be so much easier if Peter was wrapped up in it by accident. It would be a hundred times simpler to keep the kid safe if someone just wanted to kill Deadpool. Really, he would have preferred it if the bomb was meant for ANYONE but Peter.

The more he thought on it, the less Tony could understand. Why Spider-Man? What had Spider-Man done that had caused him to be the target of a murderer?

There was only one thing Tony Stark knew for definite. He could not let Peter Parker out of his sight.

**Spider-Man was on house arrest.**

\-------------------------

 **September 20th 2018** , two days after the explosion.

**8:36am**

DP - _Hey Spidey! U never got back to me about why we were nearly burnt to death????_

DP - _rude_

**9:49am**

DP - _did irondaddy actually murder u?_

**11:03am**

DP - _if you’re dead it would be pretty shitty, ngl_

**12:55pm**

DP - _Enchiladas?_

**18:32pm**

DP - _if u need saving from the avengers blink twice_

**September 23rd 2018**

**17:17pm**

DP - _you’ve not been sighted in public since we went out?????? this is still ur number right?_

**September 24th 2018**

**2:09am**

DP - _I’m lit assuming ur dead_

**September 29th 2018**

**11:36am**

DP - _we’re soaring, flying, there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach_

**11:37am**

DP - _shit, did I say I was Vanessa hudgens or zac efron??????_

**15:22pm**

DP - _baby boy. tumblr is worried about you._

**15:23pm**

DP - _told them about our date. They were into it. Knew they would be._

**October 6th 2018**

**19:54pm**

DP - _told tumblr that we had sexy sexy times too_

DP - _all the anal_

**October 10th 2018**

**2:55am**

DP - _fuck, I really thought that would get ur attention_

DP - _you’re not literally dead are u?_

**2:56am**

DP - _drop me a line, anything, just wanna know you’re okay. I know we don’t really know each other, but you’re like my favourite avenger n I’d be pretty sad if you weren’t ok_

**October 11th 2018**

**00:01**

DP - _it’s my birthday, sing me a song_

\-------------------

**00:02**

Spidey-babe - **Happy birthday, Wade x**

**7:03am**

Unknown number - _**Deadpool, this is Tony Stark. We need to talk.** _

Peter had been under house arrest for 24 days before Natasha and Steve persuaded Tony that their idea on how to keep Spider-Man alive was a good one. Deadpool. What kind of bodyguard was better than one that **_literally couldn’t die_ **?

 


	4. The Contract

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deadpool wears Captain America boxers. That's it. That's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just got a new job so updates may be a little sporadic from now on bc I'm working full time, but I'll still try my hardest to update on time bc you're all wonderful.  
> Hope u enjoy!!!!

Peter Parker had never been one for formality.

In fact, he found the whole act of formality pretentious and difficult. And that is why, when Wade Wilson walked into the meeting room, Peter couldn’t help but burst into relieved laughter. It broke any tension he was feeling almost immediately.

Deadpool’s mask was still firmly in place, but the rest of his suit had been replaced by a blue and white cheerleading outfit, pom-poms included. Peter was correct when he had assumed that the rest of Deadpool’s body would be as scarred as his face. The scars didn’t look bad, just different and maybe slightly painful. Peter looked the man’s outfit up and down, where he usually war combat boots, white converse and knee high socks were in their place. He could see an outline of a knife under the socks on his left calf and his right thigh had a gun holstered peeking out from just below the hem of his dress.

Peter thought again how this man - _this man -_ could **never** hurt him, regardless of what Tony thought.

The room they were in was large, with a long desk that ran through the middle. After so many days of literally only speaking to Tony, Aunt May and occasionally Steve and Nat, Peter was thankful to see some other faces in the room.

Tony had taken over every aspect of the younger man’s life. He had been in contact with Peter’s boss at the bugle and told him that Peter was now under his employment. He had been in contact with his landlord and paid his rent until the end of the year. But worst of all, Tony had not let Peter leave the tower. He had explained to Peter that he could only leave if he had an escort, and no way was Peter about to be seen going to the store with Captain America on his arm.

Realistically, Peter didn’t even care about the job thing, he was pretty sick of working for a man that belittled his alter-ego any chance he got anyway. But he missed patrolling, he missed helping people. He would give up his life as Peter Parker outside the tower as long as it meant that he could help people as Spider-Man. God he missed being Spider-Man.

Peter didn’t even think the attempted assassin knew his secret identity, but Tony didn’t care.

As Peter thought about his secret identity he found himself pulling his own mask more firmly against face. Just because most of the Avengers knew his identity, that didn’t mean he wanted everybody else in the room knowing too.

Deadpool sat at the long desk opposite Peter and blew him a kiss. Peter was again glad for his mask as he embarrassingly found himself blushing. Most of the room was full of faces of unknown shield agents, but some of the other faces stood out.

Peter and Tony sat with Natasha Romanov and Bruce Banner. Nick Fury had been the one to escort Deadpool in and sat down next to Steve, who was at the head of the table. Beside him sat Maria Hill, she was smiling in Peter’s direction and he shot her a thumbs up.

Wanda and Vision had also returned, at Tony’s request.

Wanda was probably one of Peter’s favourite Avengers. Not only were her powers incredibly cool but she was also one of the kindest people Peter had ever met. From the get go, she’d been one of his best friends. It also probably helped that they were fairly close in age.

Steve cleared his throat loudly to attract the attention of the room.

“Thank you all for coming today. As you are probably aware, we have an issue concerning one of our own, Spider-Man.” Steve gestured toward Peter and he gave a little wave to the group. Pete could have sworn he heard Deadpool say ‘aww’ under his breath. “Spider-Man is target to an assassin. We have a plan to keep him safe, we just need your help to catch the assassin himself. The only thing we know is that the man is completely off the grid. He had not been spotted on a single camera until about a year ago at the first attempted assassination. There is no driving license, no name, no date of birth, no fingerprints. We are going off CCTV and mobile phone footage alone here, hence why we have called so many of you in. We need our best minds on this.”

Tony pressed a button on his phone and a large hologram appeared in the middle of the table showing a screenshot of a man’s face. Peter wished he recognised him. He’d seen the man’s face so many times over the last few weeks but still had no idea who he was or why he wanted Spider-Man dead.

“We know nothing.” Steve continued. “Only that he has tried to kill Spider-Man multiple times. This last time was cutting it too close and he can’t be allowed to continue like this. We can’t let him kill any more people.”

The last sentence hung in the silence. It was Peter who spoke first.

“Anyone else? You hadn’t mentioned that he’d killed before.” His voice sounded too high, too forced.

“Kid,” Tony spun Peter’s chair around so they were face to face. “We looked back at videos from another explosion a few months ago. You were there, but there was another shooting across town and Daredevil took over for you, he saved everyone he could. I’m sorry, but seven people died. The assassin was in the videos. It fits the MO, you just happened to be saving someone else at the time.”

It was like a punch in the chest. Like someone had kicked him in the balls and pulled his lungs out through his mouth. Like someone had cut his heart out with a wooden spoon. 7 people had died. SEVEN people had been killed by a man that was targeting **him**.

Pete knew in his heart that this was no time for self pity, but all he wanted to do at that moment was go to bed and cry. Seven people had died. They probably had families. And it was Peter’s fault that they were gone.

People were talking around him but he couldn’t really register anything that was being said. The same words just kept swirling around his brain. Seven people died. _Seven people died._ **Seven people died.**

“Spidey.” It was Deadpool’s voice that cut through the cacophony of his mind. “None of this is your fault, okay? You can’t control what insanity makes a person do. The guy’s crazier than me, and that’s saying something.” Pete just watched the man, not trusting himself not to cry if he opened his mouth.

“Seriously, give yourself some credit, think about all the people you saved at that restaurant when we went for tacos. They’d be dead if it weren’t for you. David would be dead if it weren’t for you.” Deadpool continued and weirdly enough some of the words actually got through to Peter. His shoulders relaxed slightly.

“Thanks Deadpool.” Pete whispered hoarsely as he swallowed his intense need to just _sob_. Deadpool nodded and swiftly threw a pom-pom at him, which Peter easily avoided and instead it hit Tony square in the face. Despite his upset Peter found that he couldn’t help the surprised laugh that shot from his mouth and soon the majority of the room were giggling slightly, even Nick Fury had a small smile on his face. Tony scowled openly, that only made Peter laugh more. Guilt still pooled in his stomach, but it now felt like something he could deal with another time.

“Speaking of when you guys went for tacos, that brings us nicely onto our next topic.” Steve announced when the laughing had died down. “Everyone, if you didn’t already know, this is Deadpool. He will be taking the place as Spider-Man’s main bodyguard.”

“Wait, what?” Peter and Wade asked at the same time.

“You told me I had to come for a meeting about a job, I assumed you needed someone to do some dirty work for you, torture, interrogation, that kind of thing. I didn’t realise you wanted me for an actual job! Holy Kevin Costner, Batman!” Deadpool was stood up now, he seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else. In his excitement his dress had ridden up and Peter could see the edges of what looked like Captain America boxers underneath. Pete’s lips quirked into a smile again before he fully comprehended what had just been said. He turned his attention to Tony Stark.

“So, let me get this straight, for the last few weeks you guys have berated me for going for tacos with Deadpool, you’ve sat me down multiple times to warn me about ‘the dangers of mercenaries’ and how ‘I need to learn to be responsible’, and now you want him to be my bodyguard? A little hypocritical, dontchathink?” Peter asked Tony bluntly. He knew it was a little disrespectful of him to call the older man out like this in public, but at this point he was so over the double standards around the place that he wasn’t really thinking clearly.

“I’ve already spoken with Fury about this and he’s given me his assurance that Deadpool will do a good job. I am not happy about this, not in the _slightest,_ but Steve and Nat have made a very good argument that Deadpool can literally not die. He can shield you from bullets, from flames, the works. And he fucking better do exactly that.” Tony took off his glasses and pointed them at Deadpool. “If he dies while under your watch I will skin you. I will rip off your dick and feed it to you. You’ll _wish_ you were dead by the time I’m through with you. Capiche?”

Deadpool saluted in response.

“Aye aye captain.”

It took every bit of Peter’s restraint to not say ‘I can’t hear youuuuu.’

————————

An hour later the meeting had dwindled and now the only people left in the room were Natasha, Peter and Wade.

Steve had forced Tony to leave with the pretense of Shuri needing some help with Bucky’s arm. It had taken a lot for him to leave Peter and Wade together and he only agreed to go when Natasha assured him she would stay to give a proper explanation of the job at hand.

“If you’re being Kevin Costner does that mean I can sing Whitney Houston whenever I want?” Peter asked when Tony closed the door behind him. The three of them laughed. The tension dissipated instantly.

“We need to sort out some ground rules.” Natasha handed both wade and Peter a slip of paper. “I need you to work together. Spider-Man, when you’re not suited up Tony needs you to stay in the tower. If you’re outside the tower Deadpool should be with you at all times. If I find out that you’ve been by yourself for a single second outside of this tower I’ll kill you myself. ‘Pool, it is your job to keep him safe. We clear?”

“Crystal, Mrs. Widow, ma’am.” Deadpool saluted at Natasha before the two of them turned to look at Peter.

“I have a couple of questions…” Peter stated sheepishly.

“That’s what the paper is for. Write down whatever you want, rules or questions and we’ll go through them one by one.”

Peter suddenly had this horrible reminder of the contract scene in fifty shades of grey. Oh, God.

As it turned out, Deadpool had more rules than Peter. In a script neater than Peter had thought possible of the mercenary were 5 bullet points written in red crayon. He wasn’t even sure where Wade had found the crayon but it felt very _on brand_ so he didn’t question it. Natasha took the paper and read each bullet point aloud.

“‘Number one, I want to swing too.’ Really, Wade?” Nat shot the merc a look and he just shrugged. “Spidey, can you swing with someone else?” Peter nodded and Natasha moved on with the list.

“‘Number two, taco Tuesdays.’” Nat just rolled her eyes and continued. “‘Number 3, free merch. Number four, I get to meet Captain America properly, not just in a meeting.’ Wade, really?! You’re supposed to be taking this seriously.”

“I have no objections thus far, tacos are good, free merch is fine by me and, as long as Cap has no problem with number four, I’m chill.” Peter spoke up, realising he should probably give his two cents on the rules before Natasha went mad.

“Last one. ‘Number five, DO NOT put yourself in unnecessary danger, and if I die during patrol, swing back to the tower as fast as possible. Leave me where I’m killed. I’ll be okay. Your safety is more important. You’re the hero here.’”

The room was silent as Natasha finished reading Wade’s last rule. Peter wondered if he’d ever stop being surprised by Deadpool. He really was an enigma. One moment he was flirting with Spider-Man and spouting out pop culture references by the bucket load, the next he was showing off his medical skills and promising to keep Peter safe. It gave the younger man whiplash.

“That seems like a good rule to me. Peter, what have you written down?” Nat shook him from his inner monologue, she was good at that. When Peter thought about it, Natasha was probably the glue of the Avengers, she always kept everyone on the straight and narrow, always made sure that everyone was concentrating and being reasonable.

Pete handed over his own piece of paper.

“‘Bathrooms?’” Nat read and turned to him, a question on the tip of her tongue.

“Deadpool can’t come to the bathroom with me. I need to pee in privacy. The suit is an all-in-one, I gotta take the whole thing off to pee and, no offence ‘Pool, we’ve only hung out a couple of times, don’t think we’re really at the ‘looking at my naked ass’ phase yet.” Pete shrugged.

“That’s really your only rule?” Nat asked and Peter made a vague ‘mhm’ noise. “Well, the world is your oyster Spider-Man. Stay responsible. Come back to us at the end of the night. You’re free to go.”

Peter was elated. This was the longest he’d gone without being Spider-Man for years and he was incredibly excited to get back into his favourite hobby. He stood in the elevator before he realised it, asking Friday to take him to the roof. It wasn’t until the door began to close that he realised he was forgetting something.

“Friday, hold the door. DEADPOOL, YOU COMING?” He yelled when it registered that the mercenary hadn’t followed him. A shuffling sound came from the other room and soon Deadpool had joined him in the elevator.

“You ready?” Pete asked the taller man.

“Yeah, sorry baby boy, got distracted by the whole ‘naked ass’ thing. Ready now!”

This guy - _this guy -_ was going to be his bodyguard. Oh shit.


	5. Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cold testicles, a heart to heart and a homeless dude that looks suspiciously familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a WHOLE ASS MESS, not too much plot is involved! I worked 60 hours this past week and have been writing this on google docs on the bus to work so it hasn't been edited lol. Hope u enjoy though!!  
> TW WARNING: Attempted rape/Non con. Nothing graphic and it's only for a couple of paragraphs but pls don't read if you feel like this will impact you negatively!

Swinging felt a lot like flying. It was glorious and probably one of Peter’s favourite parts of being Spider-Man, after helping people, _obviously_.

It had been so long since he was last out in the suit that he’d nearly forgotten how _free_ swinging made him feel.

Peter swung through the buildings of Queens which soon blurred into the buildings of Brooklyn with Deadpool clung to his back. Wade was surprisingly silent while the two of them flew and it almost made Peter forget he was even there.

It wasn’t until Pete shot out a web and pulled them both around a particularly sharp corner that the difference between swinging alone and swinging with a 200 pound man on his back became truly apparent. Wade was a heavy guy. His body was thick with muscle and his weight was distributed entirely differently to Peter’s own lean frame, it completely changed the momentum of the swing.

As they flew round the corner Wade lost his grip, his fingers slipped from Peter’s neck and he slid very ungracefully down the heroes body. Deadpool’s fingers eventually gained purchase on Peter’s right ankle, which he now clung on to with all his might.

If they hadn’t been so high off the ground Peter might have laughed, but instead he webbed Wade’s hand to his own foot and swung to the nearest building.

Wade dragged behind on the rooftop as they both came to a stop and Peter barked out a little laugh.

“Shit Wade, I’m sorry, you were so quiet, I wasn't thinking, I swung out a little too quickly.” He said as he removed Wade’s hands from around his ankle. “My bad.”

When his hands were free Deadpool stood up quickly and brushed himself down.

“Spidey! That was so cool!!! I can’t believe you get to do that all the time! Wish I was a bug themed superhero too. Lame. Where’s Hank Pym when you need him?!” Deadpool was so animated, Pete found it hard to believe that the same man had been completely silent on his back merely moments ago. The only thing that gave his nervousness away was the slight shake in his legs.

“You enjoyed it? Could’ve fooled me. Wanna stay up here a little while so you can get your bearings again?” Pete knew that Deadpool was meant to be his bodyguard, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t look after the merc a little bit too.

Once again Peter was in awe over Deadpool’s mask. How on earth did he manage to look relieved while wearing a mask? He made a mental note to tell Tony about it.

“Are you kidding? It was the best! I just made a severe error in judgement over my outfit choice. Too cold to talk up there. I’m literally freezing my balls off here.” Deadpool lifted his dress and looked down, Peter looked away automatically. “Nope. Still there. Thank fuck.”

“Your apartment is near here, we could drop by so you can change?”

Deadpool agreed and Pete swung them both to his apartment so he could suit up.

Swinging with Deadpool in his full suit was a lot different than when he was only wearing a dress. Peter was suddenly hyper aware of how many weapons he could feel against his skin through the thin spandex of his own suit. Well, at least he _hoped_ they were weapons.

The hours seemed to pass them by entirely too quickly. During patrol Peter forgot that Deadpool wasn't used to this, the whole saving thing, the whole _not killing_ thing. Sure, he hadn't killed anyone in a long time AND he'd done his fair share of patrolling alone, but those often ended in someone being maimed or dismembered. Handing criminals over to the police was something that Deadpool had never done. It was also something that he seemed to find extremely difficult, especially when it came to one of the more disturbing parts of patrolling New York City.

An attempted rape, these were the worst parts of Peter’s job as Spider-Man. In all honesty, it was times like this that he almost wished he had Deadpool's ability to not feel anything when it came to injuring criminals. But Peter didn’t feel _nothing_ , he felt everything, he felt complete responsibility for all human life, especially after the loss of Uncle Ben and Gwen.

In that moment all Peter wanted to do was make sure the poor girl was okay, Deadpool had his eyes elsewhere. They had walked in on a middle aged man attempting to force himself on the girl, luckily the two of them had managed to get between the pair before anything had gone any further.

“How fucking dare you.” Peter could hear Wade’s voice behind him, directed at the would-be rapist, as he checked on the woman huddled in the corner of the alley. She was not crying, but she looked as if one bad word could throw her over the edge.

“You fucking scum of the earth.” Wade’s voice was low and venomous and Pete heard a loud groan come from the criminal. He spun on his heels just in time to catch the merc’s wrist as he lifted a gun from his holster. The bad guy was on the ground, his hand grasping at a rapidly bleeding nose where Deadpool had hit him.

“Deadpool. No. We don’t kill. Do you have your phone on you?” Wade nodded, re-holstering his weapon slowly and not taking his eye off the man on the ground. “Call 911. Report him. We can stay until they take him.”

As it turned out Deadpool was entirely silent when he was angry. It took the police taking the man away and then walking the poor girl to a friend’s house before Wade said another word. They sat on a rooftop, as usual. Peter had suggested both of them take a break to recuperate, he was secretly relieved that Wade had nodded in agreement.

“Thank you.” Deadpool whispered after a while.

“What for?” Pete matched his volume.

“For not letting me shoot that son of a bitch. I was so close. It would have been so easy. I _wanted_ to. That poor fucking girl man. I hate men like that. Even with all the shit I've done, I would _never_ . I can't even think about it. But it’s been nearly a year since I last killed and it would have fucked with my streak. Colossus would have been disappointed. So thank you. I owe you.” Hearing Wade be so sincere was slightly jarring to Peter and the feeling of whiplash resurfaced. He suddenly realised that as much as the merc talked about himself, Peter didn’t actually _know_ Deadpool at all. Sure, he knew his favourite band and his favourite TV show and colour, but he didn’t actually know the real him.

He wanted to.

“You’re welcome. You hungry? I would kill for some enchiladas right now.” Peter cringed inwardly at his poor choice of words, but luckily Wade just laughed it off.

“Enchiladas sound perfect, baby boy.”

That nickname was really growing on him.

Once they were seated back on the rooftop, food in hand, Pete found himself staring at Deadpool’s mouth while he ate. The scars really were something. They almost reminded Pete of a Jackson Pollock painting, no order, no rules, but stunning all the same. His mind suddenly flew back to the dress Wade was wearing earlier, the scars on his thighs were equally as beautiful. A blush began to spread on Peter’s face and he swiftly pulled the bottom of his mask back down to hide it.

“Finished already, baby boy?” Peter nodded, a lie. “All the more for me.” Deadpool shrugged.

“Wade, can I ask you for a few questions about your life? I feel like I hardly know anything about you.” Peter blurted. That sounded a lot smoother in his head.

"Sure, you want the whole origin story? We going full comic book here?" Wade finished off his 5th enchilada, pulled his mask back down and twisted his body to face Peter properly.

"Whatever you want to tell me, Wade."

“I'll give you the cut down version. I was in love. That’s how it started really. I mean, I was a mercenary before that and before all of this," He gestured to his suit.

"But it was just a job then. Then I fell in love with this really great girl, Spidey, you would have loved her. She was feisty and funny and holy fuck, that rack.” Deadpool held his hands in front of his chest to imitate breasts.

“My life was perfect. I had money, I had the girl. Then I got cancer. A massive kick in the balls from God. A sucker punch to the face from Lady Luck. I ended up in this trial that promised that they would get rid of my cancer. And here I am. This fuckweed got rid of my cancer, but ruined my life. I killed him. Someone killed Vanessa. I killed them. Vanessa is still dead. I am Deadpool. Life goes on.” Silence stretched between the two while Peter thought of suitable questions to ask.

“Do you still love her?” It felt like a selfish thing to ask, but Peter couldn’t help but be curious.

“Like crazy. There’s not a day where I don’t think of her. She was my first real love, the first person that made everything seem worth it. I do miss her, but I’ve got to the point where I think I can live again, she’d want that. She always wanted things to be fun, never wanted the serious shit. Wish I’d told her I loved her more.”

“Thank you for telling me that, Wade. I feel the same way about Gwen.” Pete found himself saying. “I'll tell you about her another time, don’t want to take away from your heartbreak because it’s very much not the same thing.”

Deadpool encouraged him to continue anyway.

“She was my best friend.”

“Oh, Spidey.”

“It was my fault, I didn’t catch her in time. A story for another time. I feel the same way though, wish I’d told her I loved her more. I’m sorry about Vanessa, Wade. I hope you’re okay.” And he really did, Peter really really hoped Wade was okay.

“A lot has changed over the last couple of years, Spidey. I’ve changed a lot. I can see a future now. I can see that Vanessa would want me to be happy regardless of if it was with her or somebody else, girl, guy, whoever. Someone that could keep me in line. Keep me moral.” Deadpool's mask moved a little as he gave Peter a small smile. “Thanks baby boy, I needed this.”

Pete felt proud and once again, for maybe the millionth time since meeting Wade, he felt himself blush under the mask. Turning his eyes down to the street, Pete realised something.

“Hey, wait! Just down there, that’s where I was stabbed, before I fell through your window!” He exclaimed in surprise.

“Aww spidey, we’re sat in the the place that brought you to me!! I never pegged you for a romantic!” That made Peter grin widely. The tense atmosphere of the previous conversation dispersed immediately and Peter realised how much he was enjoying Deadpool’s company. It wasn’t often that people joined him for patrols. Sure, sometimes he bumped into Daredevil, but he was far too serious for Peter to spend an extended amount of time with. Deadpool was entirely the opposite. His default was _funny_ , he was sarcastic, aloof, and a bit of a dick. That’s why, whenever Wade said anything sincere or serious, it went straight to Peter’s heart.

Was he really talking about Deadpool and his heart in the same sentence? In a non lethal way? Holy shit.

“You’re a good guy, Wade. Feel like I’ve known you forever.” Peter wasn’t really sure what had made him say that. It was the truth though. Wade really was a good guy, he’d shown that he was truly capable of change and the younger man was incredibly proud of him. Peter couldn’t believe it had been less than a month since he had met Deadpool, he could have sworn it had been years ago.

“I feel the same way Bambi, we’re kindred spirits. Seems like a lifetime ago that you came crashing through my window and gave me something to care about again.”

Whiplash. Again. God, Peter didn’t know if he would ever get used to that.

They chatted amongst themselves for hours, patrol all but forgotten.

Wade just made it so _easy._ Silences were never awkward, they were meaningful. Even when Wade said something crude and Peter found it difficult to respond, he always found a way to reassure the younger man that he was just kidding. Peter never felt in danger or uncomfortable around him.

They stayed on the rooftop a long while and eventually situated themselves so they were no longer sat with their legs dangling over the edge but instead were sat against the wall that carried around the edge of the rooftop, looking inwards.

Pete was tired. Like seriously tired. He wasn’t sure if it was the 24 days of anxiety being stuck inside the tower or if it was the excitement of being free again, but fuck, Peter was wiped out.

\-------------------------------

He didn’t know how long it had been when Deadpool whispered “Oi, Spidey.”

The sound pulled Peter from his comfortable sleep and he snuggled into the warmth beside him for comfort. Pete could have slept there forever.

“Spidey.”

Shit, that was Deadpool’s voice, was he still cuddling him? That hadn’t been a dream? The thought alone shook Peter and he was on his feet before he knew it. His spidey sense was blaring but he didn’t know what about, there didn't seem to be any imminent danger.

“Jesus baby boy, you sleep like the dead. It’s been two hours since you dropped off, you must’ve needed the nap. That was the fourth time I called your name.” Deadpool pulled himself to his feet too, his knees cracked painfully as he did so.

“Look at that guy down there. Spidey, does he look familiar to you? Tell me honestly, but isn’t that the guy who tried to make us into hamburger helper last month?”

There was a man sat against the wall in the alley next to them. His skin looked dirty and he was pulled into a tattered sleeping bag. A beard and mustache had begun to grow, but Peter could see, without a doubt, that that was the man who had tried to kill him. The man sleeping in the alley was the man who had placed the bomb above David's restaurant.

“ _That’s him_.”

Pete once again grabbed Wade’s wrist as it made a beeline for the gun on his thigh. He shook his head slowly at the merc.

“ **No**. That's not our job. Patrol’s over for tonight, let’s go tell Tony.”


	6. Wallflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a crush on Deadpool, Tony is ANGRY and there's quite a bit of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE NOT ABANDONED THIS STORY. Sorry for the hiatus! It turns out that working 50+ hours a week, moving house AND trying to complete a masters thesis is the recipe for MENTAL BREAKDOWN. But don't worry, all healthy again now and will be back to writing!  
> Sorry for the mess of a chapter, lots of angst in this one, hope u enjoy!!!!

“ ** _I don’t know_ ** **_, Tony!_** He was just in the street! Honestly, he looked homeless. How many more times can I repeat the same story?! Are you 100% sure that the man in the photograph is the guy who was trying to kill me?” 

It had been a week since Wade and Peter had seen the supposed assassin in the alleyway, and Tony still didn’t believe them. This was the tenth time Peter had been questioned about the night and the tenth time he’d said the exact same thing. 

“We’re sure. He was seen planting the bomb. But there’s no motive! We’ve been tracking him since you saw him, he’s just a homeless guy. It just doesn’t make _sense_.” Tony sounded exasperated and honestly, Peter’s patience was wearing thin with the older man too. He was housebound again. Well, tower-bound really, and the Daily Bugle was having a fucking field day with the silence from Spider-Man. 

He glanced at the newspaper beside him. The headline read ‘Menace Spider-Man only spotted _once_ in the last month - Has he finally left New York in peace?’ 

It took every bit of Peter’s will not to pull his suit on and go tell Jameson what was really going on, why he was _really_ in hiding. But obviously he couldn’t do that. God, sometimes having a secret identity was fucking draining. 

The conversation with Tony dragged on repetitively, eventually ending when Peter announced that he was tired and left the room without waiting for a dismissal. 

Peter knew that Tony and the others were just looking out for him, but _holy shit_ did it get boring having to repeat the same thing over and over again and not being able to help. The lack of answers that Peter had for the Avengers irritated him more than they knew. All he wanted to do was help and he couldn’t and it was killing him.

For the last few days the only things that had kept him going was the ever present chatter from Deadpool and the undying kindness from the rest of the Avengers. 

Deadpool had taken to hanging around the tower most days, not that Peter was complaining. The friendship between the two had blossomed significantly and Pete often found himself wondering how he had lived without Deadpool’s strange yet intimately charming friendship. He found it a little annoying having to wear his mask while he saw Deadpool, but the two of them had come to a compromise that Peter wore the mask rolled up to his nose and then wore regular clothes on his body, to make him a little more comfortable.

Obviously it was still early days in their friendship, but Peter couldn’t seen himself ever getting bored of Wade.

Surprisingly, Wanda and Deadpool also got along swimmingly, much to Peter’s contentment. It had been Wanda’s decision to stick around while the Avengers helped Peter and he was more than grateful for it. She and Deadpool had made things infinitely easier and Peter suddenly found himself wishing they were there right at that moment. He wished he could tell them about his frustration which Tony, but more than anything he wished he could talk to them about his frustration with himself.

Deadpool had decided to take over Peter’s usual patrol, which is where he was while Pete lay in bed, and Wanda had taken the weekend to go see Vision. Pete was envious of Wanda and Vision’s relationship, it seemed so pure and happy. Peter was lonely.

Before he knew it, Peter was texting Deadpool. He lay in bed sideways, legs dangling off one side and head dangling from the other. It was nearing midnight, he knew the merc would still be up and about. 

- **Miss you.**

Peter hit send before he could overthink it. 

The phone rang almost instantly. 

‘Baby boy! My heart! Not that I don’t miss you too, but you only saw me yesterday? Everything okay?’ Deadpool’s concerned voice calmed Peter’s inner turmoil slightly.

‘Everything’s fine, I’m just getting tired of this. Miss being free. Just feeling kinda shitty. How’s patrol?’ He knew he sounded bratty, but his brain was swirling and he needed Deadpool to take the edge off.

‘Things will be over soon, promise. Keep your faith in Iron-Daddy ‘nd the other children. You can do this, Spidey, I believe in you!’ Wade’s enthusiasm was sweet, but Peter still couldn’t shake the guilty feeling of not being able to help. 

“Thanks, Wade.” 

“Patrol is good,” Deadpool continued when he realised Peter wasn’t going to say anything more. “Saw our homeless friend again. Still nothing to report about him. Pretty sure I’ve got his routine down to a tee. Stopped a couple of burglaries, only one incident where I hit someone too hard, but I called an ambulance! You’d be proud, Spidey.’ 

‘I am proud, Wade.’ 

And really, he was. Deadpool was doing incredibly well, hitting milestone after milestone. If Peter didn’t know better, he would say that Deadpool was becoming a fully fledged hero. 

“You know when I fell through your window?” Peter asked tentatively. 

“I do, Spidey. You nearly broke my favourite bong.” Deadpool chided.

“I just wanted to say thanks again. It… I’m really glad it was your window.”

Peter never thought he’d feel like this about a mercenary. Their friendship had been blossoming, but at least on the younger man’s side, the feelings had become slightly more romantic. He supposed he should have seen it coming, with all the blushing he’d been doing recently, but something inside Peter was still pushing the feelings back. 

He’d lost everyone he’d ever loved, his parents, Uncle Ben, Gwen. It made it that much harder to let himself fall for someone, he was tired of being constantly scared and feeling such responsibility for another person’s safety.

Although… Deadpool couldn’t die.

He was the only person in Peter's life that he didn’t have to protect, and that feeling was the biggest comfort in the world.

“I’m glad it was my window too.”

——————————————

It had been a long few weeks for Tony Stark and, by the time Cap had deemed them all prepared enough to confront Peter’s attempted murderer, he just _really_ needed a win. He needed this to go well. His kid was still in danger and Tony had scarcely been able to focus on much else since they found out. 

Tracking the assassin had been easy. Like Peter and Deadpool said, he was a homeless man, the facial recognition had pinpointed him as a 100% match, but it was still difficult for Tony to believe. The man didn’t _do anything._

They’d tracked him for a week. He roamed the city, he begged for money, he bought food, he slept. That was it. HOW WAS THAT IT? 

When they finally confronted him, Tony went in with guns blazing, literally. 

The man was sat in an alley off Fifth Avenue, huddled in a sleeping bag, he had an upside down baseball cap at his feet holding a couple of dollar bills and a few quarters. He looked _harmless_. It angered Tony more than he ever thought it would.

“Who do you work for?” They’d snuck up to him while he was asleep. It was 7am and the sun was still just peaking over the horizon. Tony held his left repulsorto the homeless man’s head. He repeated himself as the man woke up. The anger that came from his words was palpable and Tony could barely recognise his own voice.

The man stayed silent.

“Why are you targeting Spider-Man?!” Tony yelled again, pushing his hand further into the man’s face. It took him saying the same sentence 3 times before the angry cloud surrounding his brain cleared a little and he realised that the man was shaking where he sat. Tears were streaming down the homeless guy’s face and his entire body screamed _innocent._ It made zero sense to Tony, this was the man that had tried to murder Peter and now he was just... crying?

“Sir, we have video evidence." Cap spoke up from behind Tony. “You’ve been seen attempting to commit murder multiple times. You were seen planting the bomb that killed seven people 6 months ago. We just want to know why.” His voice was level and clear, Tony felt jealous of his collected nature. He pushed his repulsor against the man's head again.

“Tony...Let me.” Cap directed his words at the hero next to him and settled a hand on his shoulder, steering him away from the man sat on the floor. Tony stood his ground until Steve spoke again.

“Tony, look at him.”

He looked at Steve and then back at the man in front of them.

The man on the floor looked _scared_ . Really scared. His pupils were blown wide and his sleeping bag was damp with urine. How was this the man that had tried to kill _his_ kid? There wasn’t a doubt about it, he was definitely the person in the videos, but still, _how_?!

Tony realised then that he was too close to this. He couldn’t think objectively anymore. Peter was his child, his son. Well, not really, but he might as well have been. He wished he was. Tony couldn’t deal with this. He turned himself away and stood behind Steve who had squat down in front of the man on the floor.

“We need you to explain this to us. We need to know why.” Steve’s voice was eerily quiet, but it seemed to get through to the man.

“I had to… He made me…” The tears were still streaming down his face and his voice was hoarse with disuse. 

“Who made you, son?” 

It was inappropriate, but Tony smirked, maybe he was having some form of stress induced breakdown? Hearing Steve call the middle-aged homeless man ‘son’ just got to him, even through all his anger.

“I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me.” The man was becoming frantic and Steve lifted both his hands, a sign of peace. 

“No one will kill you.”

“He hired me to do those things… I didn’t want to, I swear, I just…”

Steve waited patiently for him to continue.

“I wasn’t homeless when I met him, he was meant to help me, he was meant to make my brain better, he was meant to get me off the drugs. He said he’d pay me so I could pay my debts. Please, I just need to pay my dealer so he doesn’t kill my son!” The man pleaded with Steve.

His son...

Something in Tony's brain flipped.

“ **WHAT ABOUT MY SON, ASSHOLE?!** " Tony shrieked. "What about the kid that has been killing himself for years trying to save everybody in New York City and you tried to blow him up?! He’s sacrificed _everything_ , he’s lost nearly _everyone_! And you have the fucking audacity to try and kill him?! How _dare_ you?!” Tony didn’t even realise that he’d hit the man until Steve was dragging him away, the gloves of his suit were spattered with blood.

He was curled on the floor.

“Michael Reynolds.” The man coughed. “That’s his name… Please…” Cough. “Please, just don’t let him kill my son.” 

Tony was back in the air and on his way back to the tower before the man finished speaking. He was done with him. He needed to figure out anything he could. He needed for Peter to be safe.

\------------------------

Michael Reynolds. Psychiatrist. He’d been practicing in New York for the last 5 years. His record was clean. It infuriated Tony. 

“Again, Friday.” His voice was hollow. 

“Michael Reynolds, 43, licensed psychiatrist and owner of Wallflower Therapy in Manhattan. Born in Connecticut, degree in psychiatry and a masters in counselling from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He now specialises in both post traumatic stress disorder and addiction therapy.” 

The AI’s voice filled Tony’s lab and he pulled his head into his hands. He’d locked himself away as soon as he reached the tower, too angry to see anyone. This was the man that had hired an addict to kill his son. A fucking doctor. A fucking therapist. How on earth was he going to explain this to Peter?

—————————————

“I know, I’m sorry May, Tony has me on a tight leash at the moment. It’ll all be sorted soon and we’ll go back to Tuesday night dinners before you know it!” Peter was pleading with his aunt. She had been calling constantly recently. They hadn’t seen each other since this whole assassin thing had started, it was Tony’s decision. 

_‘If your aunt May comes to the tower, or if you and Deadpool go to her house, the assassin is one step closer to knowing your identity’_

He had a point.

“I know, Pete, I just worry. I miss you a lot. Why don’t you bring your new friend along next time you come?” May asked.

“My new friend?”

“The nice man Mr. Stark hired to be your bodyguard! You've mentioned him a lot recently.” Aunt May could always read between the lines.

“Wade. Right. You wanna meet Wade. Let me ask him and I’ll get back to you, I don’t know how he is around strangers.” 

Would Wade want to meet his aunt? Would he wanna see his childhood home? It felt eerily similar to bringing a boyfriend home. Pete shook the thought out of his brain. 

"You do that Petey, I want to meet the man that's protecting my boy. Do you think he likes Indian foo-"

“Peter has a right to know!" The shrill yell interrupted May, not that she could hear it. It was Steve, from two floors down. Tony's lab.

“May, I’m gonna have to go, I’ll call you later. Love you!” 

He hung up before May could respond and got in the elevator. In the 8 years that Peter had known the Avengers, he had never heard Cap yell like that before.

“Friday.” Pete whispered. “Take me to the lab, but don’t open the doors and don’t announce my presence.” 

The AI did what was asked of her.

Through the metal doors Peter could clearly hear what was being said. It was times like this that he was extremely thankful for his enhanced hearing.

“He’s still just a kid, Steve. He doesn’t need to know everything.” It was Tony, what did Peter not know?

“He’s not a kid anymore! As much we hate to believe it, he’s an adult. We should tell him.” Steve replied.

“And what? What do we tell him? A murderous psychiatrist is trying to kill him? Michael Reynolds is clean, he has no record! We still know nothing!”

Who the fuck was Michael Reynolds? 

“We know where he practices, we know what he’s done. We just don’t know why. We can figure that out. We just need to wait, we need to broach this _sensibly_. We need to calm down and think about the whole thing logically.” Steve’s voice was calm, but Pete could hear the slight shake as he tried to keep himself composed.

“It’s the ‘why’ I can’t get my head around, Frozone." Tony Spat. "Can you tell me why a psychiatrist is hiring homeless addicts to try and kill MY KID?!" 

_His kid._

The noise of glass smashing made Peter jump.

What was happening? He had never heard Tony speak like this before, especially not to Steve! What the fuck?

Peter silently pressed the elevator button for his floor.

“Friday,” he said when he knew he was out of earshot of the Captain. “Tell me everything you can about a psychiatrist called Michael Reynolds.”

He listened intently while the AI spoke. 

“Can you tell me what Tony meant when he said that this dude was ‘hiring homeless addicts to kill his kid?’”

“Boss and Captain Rogers paid a visit to the homeless man identified as your assassin this morning. As far as I can tell he told them that he had been hired by Michael Reynolds to kill you. He said that Dr. Reynolds had promised to pay off his drug dealer so that the dealer didn’t kill his son. I have video footage from Captain Roger's suit if you would like to see?

Peter nodded.

He watched the whole video in stunned silence.

His stomach was in knots. How had it come to this? How could he let this happen? Tony was one of the best people in his life and he’d caused him to feel like he couldn’t even speak to him about something as important as _this_.

How could he have done this to somebody he loves? He had caused Tony to _lose it_. He had caused him to hit that guy, he'd caused him to shout at Steve and smash glass. 

The feeling of complete and utter helplessness settled low in Peter's stomach and he was having a hard time not throwing up. He needed to _do something_.

Fuck. This.

His suit was on before he knew it. 

 **-Deadpool. Meet me at Wallflower Therapies in Manhattan. I need your help.**  

He hit send, dropped his phone on the floor and opened up the large window in front of him.

He wouldn't be a nuisance anymore.

"I'll figure this out." He said aloud, before he launched himself from the window and swung into the streets of New York City.

 


	7. Relapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter feels guilty. Michael Reynolds is insane. A bomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thiiiiink this is going to be the penultimate chapter but I'm not too sure just yet, it depends if i think it feels too rushed or not when I write the next chapter!  
> Again, I understand my writing style isn't for everyone but pls be kind :) Enjoy!

It felt like forever since the last time Peter had swung alone, he didn’t realise how much he had missed it. He’d said before that swinging was one of his favourite parts of being Spider-Man. Usually, being  _ this  _ free after spending so long following somebody else's rules would have made him happy, but Pete couldn’t help the feeling of rocks in his stomach as it was weighed down by guilt.

As he headed for Manhattan Tony Stark’s voice kept replaying in his head.

_ "Can you tell me why a psychiatrist is hiring homeless addicts to try and kill MY KID?!" _

Peter had never heard him that angry before, especially not directed toward the Captain.

It was Pete’s fault. He knew it.

Even if Peter barely knew  _ why  _ the psychiatrist was trying to kill him, he knew it was because of something  _ he’d  _ done, something that was  _ his  _ fault, something that only  _ he  _ could fix.

Tony was the closest person that Peter had to a father now and he refused to be the cause of any more stress for him. Not anymore. Never again. He’d fix this.

Regardless of this, Pete knew in the back of his mind that Tony would not approve of his leaving the tower unattended to confront the man trying to kill him, BUT, if Peter had the chance to make any part of Tony’s life better, it was something that he was willing to do. It was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

It was also pretty inevitable that Deadpool wasn’t going to be happy with him either. One of the rules on Wade’s side of the contract was that Peter wasn’t allowed to put himself in danger, and here he was, swinging towards the man that had not only tried to kill Spider-Man multiple times, but had also succeeded in killing 7 innocent civilians. 

Peter hoped that Deadpool would be able to see it from his perspective, he just wanted Wade to understand and realise that he was doing this for the greater good. But Peter knew, deep down, that Wade would probably just be pissed off with him.

Peter’s stomach churned again and he quickly realised that the thought of Deadpool being upset with him was something that made him feel slightly ill. Wade had made the last few weeks tolerable. He was one of the few people in Peter’s life that he could be 100% genuine with, everything was just so _easy_ with him. Even when Peter said stupid shit, Wade just knew how to make him feel better. He could be himself. Well as much as one can be themselves while wearing a mask.

Pete knew it was a stupid thing to be thinking about as he swung towards probable iminent death, but God, Peter liked __ Wade. _Really_ liked him.

He was a little disappointed that, by the time Peter got to Wallflower Therapies, Deadpool was nowhere to be seen. Peter didn't allow himself any time to dwell on Wade's whereabouts. He needed a plan. Swinging to Manhattan had been impulsive and it was only now that Peter realised the flaws with that.

How was he going to get into Michael Reynolds’ office without being seen? It was mid afternoon and the building was abuzz with life. Pete’s brain was fried. He was 23, he was supposed to be being irresponsible and getting drunk and being underpaid for a job he hated, how the fuck was he supposed to figure this shit out?

Part of Peter wished he could be normal, he wished he could have a life like the kids he went to college with. They had normal stresses. Bad grades, relationship troubles, financial issues. Peter  _ wanted _ that. He didn’t want to have a new guy trying to murder him every few months.

He wanted to be worried about jobs and to be stressed about how to tell Deadpool that he had a crush on him, but  **_fuck_ ** , he had someone trying to kill him.  **FUCK** .

He needed a plan.

Think.

Think.

Think.

The fire alarm. 

That could give him time, it’d give him at least a few minutes to scope out the place and hopefully find evidence of Reynolds’ plans to try and kill him. At this point, anything was a win. 

Peter scaled the wall and through the window of an empty room until he was quietly inside the building and pulled the alarm in the corner. It took him 8 seconds to climb back out the window and back into his hiding space and then another 20 seconds before people began to vacate the building. The fire alarm was a slow beeping noise that Pete managed to phase out as to not overwhelm his hightened hearing.

Reynold’s office wasn’t hard to find. It was the biggest in the building, ground floor, all wooden panels and bookshelf covered walls filled with psychology books. Very Hannibal-esque, Peter thought. How fitting. 

In the centre of the room sat a large mahogany desk. It was neat and very well organised and had a row of drawers on either side of the chair. Jackpot. 

It took Peter less than a minute to find a large leatherbound notebook under a false bottom in the middle drawer. 

“And these criminals think they’re smart…” Peter muttered to himself.

It was Reynold’s plans. His reasoning. His issues. His diary, basically. This had been far too easy.

Peter read to himself quietly, noticing suddenly that the fire alarm was no longer ringing. He didn’t have long.

“Once Spider-Man is dead Tony Stark will crumble, once Tony Stark is out of the picture, Captain America will fall and so ends the rest of the Avengers initiat-”

_ Spidey sense. _

Peter looked up to see a man leant against the door frame of the office, the door closed behind him. Reynolds. He was taller than Peter was expecting, with an intimidating aura that put the younger man on edge.

“Spider-Man, I wondered when I’d finally get round to meeting you in person.” Reynolds' voice was deep and raspy, like he'd drank a lot of whiskey in his life.

Peter could hear the noise of people settling back into the offices above them.

“Michael Reynolds.” Peter replied. “You’ve killed seven people. You’ve been trying to kill me. I want to know why.” Peter tried his hardest to sound intimidating but, even after all the practice he'd had, it was still difficult.

Reynolds laughed slowly and Peter stepped back instinctively, bracing himself for a fight.

“Sit down, Spider-Man. Let me tell you a story.” 

Peter hesitated.

“There is a bomb in this room, the detonator is in my pocket. Sit down or both of us and the people in the office above will die.”

Peter’s decision was once again made for him. He settled into the desk chair and Reynolds walked forward and sat on the edge of the desk in front of him.

“You weren’t around for the Battle of New York, were you?” 

Peter shook his head, his powers had only come to him a month or so before that, he still barely knew what he was doing with his life. He hadn’t even met Tony Stark at that point. 

“Then you don’t understand the devastation it caused to us that were right in the centre of it. You don’t understand the amount of clients I’ve had that have taken their own lives because of how  _ Tony Stark _ handled everything. You don’t understand how hard I’ve had to work to fix  _ his  _ mess.” The venom poured from his voice at the mention of Tony Stark. It was obvious how much he despised him. 

“Let me get this straight, you want to kill me to get back at Tony for what? Making you work too hard? Killing the Chitauri? Saving the world?” Peter could practically hear Wanda scolding him for being sarcastic in such a serious situation. It was clear that Reynolds didn’t like it much either. His fists were clenched by his sides and his eyes were black with anger.

“You’re a  _ child _ .” He spat the words and leant forward until he was inches from Peter’s mask. “You don’t get how the world works. You have to die because The Avengers ruined people’s lives. They ruined everything. Tony Stark ruined everyone. His body count is higher than mine and it should be him that pays the price.”

“And what about that dude? The homeless guy? Did he have to pay the price too?” Reynolds’ laughed again.

“He was just a piece of the puzzle. A stepping stone of anonymity. The drug addict desperate for help to make money so his dealer didn’t kill his son. It’s classic. He was just collateral damage. He’ll obviously have to pay for telling you about my identity though. A shame. Guess his son will have to die too.”

Reynolds' was possibly the coldest person that Peter had ever encountered. He spoke under a guise of caring for the common man, yet was so willing to allow an innocent boy to die.

“I’m confused, you want the Avengers out of the picture because you believe they hurt too many people, yet you don’t care about even more people getting hurt?”

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I’m doing this for a better future. People will thank me." The older man chuckled again, it made Peter's blood run cold. "But anyway, we’ve been talking too much. Time to get this over with.”

From under his suit jacket Reynolds pulled out a small gun with a silencer. 

“Didn’t think I’d have to do this so personally but it’s better than not at all.” With his empty hand he pulled a small device from his left pocket. The bomb detonator.  “Remember Spidey, either you stay still while I kill you, or 20 men and women upstairs also die.”

So this was it. His choice had been taken away yet again. This is where Peter Parker was going to die. He couldn’t let any more civilians be killed in his place. 

Reynolds sulked forward until the gun was placed directly against Peter’s head.

The metal was cold, even through the mask.

Peter let his eyes close gently and thought of the people he loved. 

His parents. 

May. 

Ben. 

Gwen. 

Tony. 

Wanda. 

Wade.

“Spidey, you in here?”

_ Wade?! _

Peter’s eyes shot open to see Deadpool skipping through the office door. 

"Spidey?"

A blunt pain hit his temple.

Then nothing. 

Darkness. 

\------------------------------

Peter awoke to Deadpool’s voice and a ringing in his ears. It took a second for him to get his bearings but he soon realised that he was still in Reynolds’ office on the ground behind the desk. His mask was damp with blood where the barrel of the gun had hit him.

“I can’t see a bomb, ergo, there is not a bomb in here.” Deadpool stated matter of factly like it'd said it 20 times already.

“You want proof, you son of a bitch? Here’s your proof.” Peter could hear reynold’s open a cupboard and place something on a table on the opposite side of the room. “Now call them. Tell them I have their precious Spider-Man and I will kill him if they don’t do as I ask.”

“God, all you criminals are so demanding. No wonder Spidey gets so sarcastic when we patrol.”

“NOW!” It was obvious that Reynold’s was finding Deadpool difficult to deal with. That made Peter smile a little despite the situation. 

His face was hidden from view and he couldn’t really see what was going on, but It wasn’t worth moving. Even with Deadpool here, Peter still had no choice. He still would rather die than let that man blow up the building with people inside. 

“Sorry bud, no can do. I don’t negotiate with terrorists.” Wade said calmly.

“Don’t you get it?! I will literally kill anybody who gets in my way! I’ll kill your little boyfriend down there! The Avengers need to be gotten rid of. I will set this bomb off with no hesitation!” Reynolds’ voice was sharp and exasperated, Wade was really getting to him.

“I understand, I just can’t let you do any of that. Spidey would be upset. Also, I’m just waiting for him to wake up, cos I read on tumblr that he has this thing, they call it the ‘Spidey tingle’ and it’s basically like a sixth sense and I think he’ll be able to tell me if you’re gonna blow that bomb up or not. Y’know? Might give me some time to grab that detonator out of your hand. But I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud here.”

Peter could tell, even through noise alone, that Reynolds was stunned into angry silence.

“Even if I’m dead…” He began to mutter under his breath. “Even if I’m dead… They’d still be gone… Spider…He’d be dead too... They'd fall... It'd kill them too...”

Fuck. 

He was gonna set the bomb off and kill everyone just out of pettiness. 

Michael Reynolds was willing to kill himself so that the Avengers would crumble. He was fucking crazy. No way was Peter letting that happen.

He pulled himself to his feet as quick as he could while his head banged with pain.

“Deadpool, now!”

In a split second Deadpool had taken the detonator from Reynolds’ hand, thrown the bomb on the floor and pulled both himself and Reynold’s on top of it.

What the fuck was he doing?

Deadpool looked up at Peter once more.

“Run, I'm about to break my streak. I'm sorry.” He whispered and pressed the button to the detonator. 

“WADE!” Was the last word Peter spoke before he was thrown back by the explosion and knocked into darkness for the second time that day.


	8. Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finally interrupts an adult. Tony is a dad. Deadpool meets Cap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days! Okay so turns out the last chapter wasn't the penultimate one, but this one definitely is!  
> This has been my favourite chapter to write :)  
> Trigger Warning for a panic attack!!  
> Enjoy!

**_Beep. Beep. Beep._ **

What the fuck was that annoying noise?

**_Beep. Beep. Beep._ **

“Aunt May, turn your alarm off!”

He couldn’t tell if he’d said the words out loud or not.

**_Beep. Beep. Beep._ **

“Just let me sleep for five more minutes!”

Peter’s eyes _burned._ Even through closed eyes he could tell his bedroom was insanely bright and he did _not_ want to deal with that right now. Work could wait. Jameson could wait. Just five more minutes. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the beeping to stop, it would soon go to snooze mode and Peter could get back to sleeping. He had plans with Gwen later on and wanted to get as much shuteye as possible.

“Peter? You awake?”

Why was Bruce Banner in his bedroom?

That’s when it came flooding back to him. 

Gwen. 

Tony Stark. 

Michael Reynolds. 

Wade Wilson. 

The bomb.

Peter’s eyes flew open, which he regretted immediately. He had been right about the bright room, it just wasn’t his bedroom. Peter lay in a room of the Avengers tower medical floor. The room was brightly lit, both with daylight through the open blinds and fluorescent lights hung from above the bed.

“I’m awake.” Peter managed to croak, his throat was insanely dry. Bruce must have realised and rushed to grab a glass of water and a straw and let Peter drink. He could have had 4 more glasses, being injured always made him insanely thirsty. At least this time he wasn't banging his chin on the faucet of Wade's sink.

Wade.

“How’s Deadpool? How big was the explosion? What happened?” The words spilled out of Peter.

The beeping noise was becoming more frequent and Peter sat up swiftly. Peter could feel his chest becoming tighter and his breath coming quicker, but he couldn’t help it, he had too many questions.

“Is everyone okay? Did the bomb kill anyone in the offices upstairs? What about the homeless guy and his son? What is his name?! Does anyone know their names? I can help! Where’s Tony?” The edges of his eyesight were becoming fuzzy and everything was becoming overwhelming. The light was too bright, the beeping was too loud, the room was too hot, the sheets were too tight, where was his suit? Where was his mask?. Everything was _too much_.

“Peter, Peter! Breathe with me, Pete.” Bruce was holding one of Peter’s hands while he tried to get the younger man to look him in the eye.

“Peter, count with me. Breathe in for 5, hold for 6 and breathe out for 7. Ready?” Peter tried his hardest to nod. “In, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Okay and again, try counting with me this time, on your hands is fine if you can’t talk.”

It took a long time, but Peter finally got the hang of breathing again. 

“4..5..6..7.” 

“You okay Peter?” Bruce asked, the concern in his voice was clear.

“I think so…” He was still catching his breath slightly, but Bruce had stopped the beeping that was coming from the heart monitor and his sheets were pooled down the bottom of the bed, so things were becoming clearer again. “I still have a lot of questions though.”

“I’ll bet. Let me grab Tony, he’s anxious to talk to you.” With a ruffle to Peter’s curls, Bruce left the room and he was once again left alone with his thoughts.

How had everything gone so wrong? He was trying to help. That’s all he wanted, to help Tony, to be the Avenger that Tony told him he was. And he’d fucked everything up, yet again. When would he learn? 

He found himself once again wishing to be normal, wishing he had normal problems. When had his life become _such a mess_?

“Kid.” Tony’s voice pulled him from his spiral, but when he saw the man in front of him Peter's eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I’m so sorry.” Peter whispered, his stomach was churning with guilt. “How many people are dead?” He couldn’t meet Tony’s eyes.

Tony walked silently to the foot of his bed and sat gently on the edge.

“Pete, kid. No one died.”

That made him look up.

“What? But the bomb?” 

This was ridiculous, Peter saw Deadpool hit the detonator, he felt the explosion. How had no one died?

“Well, no one died that either couldn’t come back to life or hadn’t already been willing to die just so you’d die too. Pete, everyone is fine. Deadpool included.” Tony forced Peter to keep his eye contact, making sure his words were fully comprehended. 

“Deadpool… he’s fine? Reynolds is gone? How long have I been out?” Peter questioned. Tony nodded in response to his second question before continuing.

“You’ve been out for just over a day. In very un-Deadpool-like fashion he actually had a decent idea to pull both himself and Reynolds around the bomb, it made the explosion a lot smaller than it could have been. He woke up after we put him back together again a few hours ago. You’ve come out practically unscathed, by the way. A concussion. It could have been a lot worse. He did good, kid. Never thought I’d say those words.” Tony looked exasperated. “You, on the other hand…”

“I know, Tony, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Peter was pleading with Tony, the tears were falling at this point and he knew he must look a mess.

“Talk me through your thinking, kid. I just want to understand why you thought it was a good idea to go confront a murderer without any backup.” Peter could tell that Tony was trying to be as calm as he could, for both their benefits it seemed. It made Peter’s heart hurt.

“I heard you… In the lab with Steve. You were yelling, smashing things. I couldn’t take it. I’ve caused you so much pain, Tony. I couldn’t let it keep happening while I sat doing nothing.” Tony tried to interrupt. Peter didn’t let him. 

“Tony, no. I’ve known you for eight years. You and May, you’ve been my rocks through everything. I was 15 when I first met you Tony, FIFTEEN. I know you still think I’m a kid and despite how much you tell me that I’m an adult now, you’re still trying to protect me. I understand that, but I couldn’t let you keep taking all the heat for my issues. You do that too much already. I wanted to help you, no matter the cost. Do you know the reason Reynolds was trying to kill me?”

“Deadpool tried to explain, but it’s hard to listen to him without becoming homicidal.” A bad joke.

“Reynolds’ wanted to kill me to get to you. He wanted the Avengers to fall. He blamed you all for the battle of New York. He was wrong and he needed to be stopped. I know I was stupid, I know I shouldn’t have gone it alone. But you were hurting and I couldn’t let him hurt any more people. He was hurting everyone I loved. I owe you too much to let you go through that.” 

The words hung in the air in a thick tension around the two for a few seconds before Tony got up from the bed, took his glasses off and sighed loudly. Peter was sure he was going to walk out of the room. 

Instead, he turned back towards Peter with tears in his eyes.

“Peter. I know you’re an adult now. I know you’re responsible and _thank you_ for trying to defend us all. I have every faith that you can do anything you set your mind to. I just want you to be safe. You know the reason I call you kid? It’s not because I still think you’re a child, It’s because I think of you as _my_ kid. You’re the closest I’ve ever had to one and I love you just as I would if you were my own flesh and blood. I’m not good at this whole feeling stuff. But, shit, kid. Please don’t do that again, you’ll give your old man a heart attack.”

Pete was stunned into silence again. A good silence. A comfortable silence. 

Pete reached out subconsciously for the older man and was met by the tug of a cannula in his hand. Tony understood, he stepped towards Peter and wrapped him in a hug. It was emotional, and just what Peter needed. His heart was full, his guilt had lessened, his anxiety had decreased, things were normal again. No, not normal, better.

\-------------

Steve came into the hospital room an hour later while Peter and Tony were playing a game of scrabble. It was sweet. Domestic. It made Steve smile.

“Sorry to interrupt, fellas. Deadpool wanted to see you Pete, I said I’d ask if it was okay. I have your mask.”

Peter looked at Tony automatically, a ‘please’ in his eyes. 

“Fine, spend time with a mercenary instead of me, see if I care!” Tony yelled sarcastically while he walked over to Steve and threw the mask at Peter dramatically. “Come on old man, we know when we’re not wanted!” He sloped out the room with such sass that Peter couldn’t help but laugh. Steve soon followed, also smiling. 

“Tell Friday when you’re ready for him to come in, he’s sat just down the hall.” he said as he left the room.

Peter pulled his mask over his face, weirdly nervous to see the man that had just killed himself to keep him safe.

“Friday, tell Wade he can come in.” Peter spoke to the room.

Deadpool walked through the door less than a minute later. He was wearing a pair of Captain America pyjamas. Peter smiled immediately.

“Wade, you’re okay.” Peter whispered and Deadpool smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, Spidey. I know I shouldn’t have killed him. I should have just knocked him out or something, but it was an instinct. Everyone’s okay in the offices upstairs. No one else is dead. Are you okay, baby boy? You’re not saying anything.” Deadpool was rambling and Peter could tell that he also must have been nervous.

“Wade, thank you. You saved us all. I owe you big time.” He patted the bed next to him, asking Wade to sit next to him. He did just that. 

“You’re not upset? I fucked up my streak.”

“I’m not upset, I’m glad you did what you did. We can start the streak over. Just a relapse. It’s okay, Wade. Everyone is okay, no one is mad at you. In fact, Tony Stark even said you ‘did good.’” Peter was smiling again under the mask, of course Wade was more worried about Peter being upset with him than he was about blowing himself up. Wade was wonderful.

The older man didn’t reply, just fell forward until his head was rested against Peter’s chest. He looked uncomfortable, his limbs in an awkward position and he was far too tall for the bed, but he seemed content so Peter just curled his arms around his shoulders and let him rest for while.

“So I see you met Cap.” Peter said after the two of them had been silent for a few minutes.

“I did! He’s so cool!” 

Wade chatted excitedly about his meeting with Steve and Peter couldn’t help but just watch him. His whole face lit up when he talked. His eyes gleamed and his smile radiated. The way his scars wrinkled around his eyes when he grinned made Peter’s heart race.

Now was the time.

“Wade.” Peter said when Wade was finished.

“Yes, sweet cheeks?” 

“I need to talk to you about something.”

Wade urged Peter to continue.

“These last couple of months have been… Stressful, and sad.” Wade nodded and opened his mouth to say something but Peter interrupted. “They’ve been stressful and sad, but you’ve made them tolerable. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had you as my bodyguard. As my friend. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about you and… I guess what I’m trying to say is that I like you. As more than a bodyguard and more than a friend I mean. Like like. Romantic styles.”

Wade pulled himself from Peter’s arms immediately. The sudden lack of warmth made him shiver.

“Wade?” He questioned.

The older man was pacing and looking around the room, everywhere but Peter’s eyes.

“Are you joking?” Wade asked suddenly.

“No, why would I joke about that?” Peter’s confusion was obvious.

“You’re concussed. You clearly don’t know what you’re saying. Spidey, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, when you’re better.” Wade practically ran from the room and Peter was left in silence. Alone.

Well, that didn’t go how he expected.


	9. Inevitability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tingle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are. The end of the story. It's been a fun couple of months and thank you for all your lovely comments, couldn't have finished the story without them! You're all stars.  
> You'll probably see me again some time soon with a new fic, but for now, enjoy :)

**Missed Call from - Spidey-Babe. 2nd November - 16:06pm**

**Missed Call from - Spidey-Babe. 2nd November - 17:34pm**

**Missed Call from - Spidey-Babe. 2nd November - 18:45pm**

**Missed Call from - Wanda. 2nd November - 19:03pm**

**19:05pm**

Spidey-Babe - **Please answer my calls Wade, I need to talk to you.**

**3rd November.**

**10:13am**

Spidey-Babe - **I understand if you don’t wanna talk, but please just listen to what I have to say. Call me back when you read this, please.**

**4th November**

**12:08**

Spidey-Babe - **Cap** **talked about you today, said you were, and I quote, “a lovely young man.” Thought you’d wanna know.**

**Missed Call from - Spidey-Babe. 4th November - 15:56pm**

**5th November**

**10:47pm**

Spidey-Babe -  **Hey, I dunno if you’ve changed numbers or if you’re still just ignoring me. Anyway, about what I said the other day, it’s cool if you don’t feel the same way, don’t feel like you owe me anything. I’d hate to lose your friendship because of that.**

**Missed Call from - Spidey-Babe. 5th November - 11:21pm.**

**6th November**

**9:38am**

Wanda -  _ Hey, stop being a jackass and reply to Spidey. I’m sick of him moping around! _

**7th November**

**12:02am**

Spidey-Babe -  **Holy shit, tumblr really does know a lot about me! This feels weird. Also can you try and persuade people to not call it my ‘Spidey tingle’, that grosses me out lmao. I’ve always called it a Spidey sense, sounds cooler.**

**12:07am**

Spidey-Babe - **Want some food** **? My treat?**

**8th November**

**8:06am**

Spidey-Babe -  **Hey Wade, heard from Colossus that you’re not even in New York at the moment. Please remember your streak, please please be safe.**

**9th November**

**3:45am**

Spidey-Babe -  **Please be safe, for me. I’ll ask Colossus to keep me updated.**

**15th November**

**2:54am**

Spidey-Babe -  **Heard you’re back in New York.**

Spidey-Babe - **I miss you.**

Spidey-Babe -  **Remember when I fell through your window?**

Spidey-Babe -  **Do you remember me telling you that Tony had asked me not to see you and I took you for tacos anyway?**

Spidey-Babe -  **When I sat on that rooftop all I could think was that I was disobeying Tony and that I was seeing you for the wrong reasons.**

Spidey-Babe -  **I nearly bailed. I nearly left the tacos on the roof and ran.**

Spidey-Babe - **But** **then there you were, falling onto the concrete in a heap and I knew I had made the right decision to see you again.**

Spidey-Babe - **I don’t regret meeting you. Never will. Whether or not you feel the same way, it’s okay. Just know that for a while, in one of the most stressful periods of my life, you made me feel happy. I’m not concussed, I’m not joking, I’m at 100% physical health. I still like you.**

**3:03am**

Spidey-Babe -  **I’m gonna be on the rooftop next to where we first went out for tacos in Hell's Kitchen in half an hour, I’ll wait for one hour. If I don’t see you I’ll understand that you don’t feel the same way and I’ll leave you alone. No hard feelings, no anger, no upset, I’ll understand x**

Peter pulled himself from his bed and donned his suit quickly. He’d been sleeping badly lately. It had been a rough few days and, even though Peter had finally been able to see May and patrol regularly again, he couldn’t help but feel like part of him was missing. He was back in his apartment and swung from his apartment window and away into the night as fast as he could.

Peter liked Wade a lot but it was becoming more and more apparent that the feelings weren't reciprocated. Obviously this was fine, Wade didn’t need to have a crush on Peter, he didn’t owe him anything, but Pete couldn’t help but feel disheartened. Even if Wade didn’t like him that way, he didn’t want to lose his friendship. Who knows where Peter would be now if it weren’t for the charm of Wade’s stupid jokes, or his ability to always keep the younger man on his toes, or the warmth that he felt when Wade smiled at him the way he did?

He didn’t want to know what life was going to be like without hearing Wade call him ‘baby boy’ at least one more time.

He’d made Peter’s life better and it was going to be a struggle to get over him. Goddamn Wade, why did he have to be so fucking loveable. 

Peter stopped swinging once he neared David’s restaurant. Peter had managed to persuade Tony to give David an anonymous donation so he could rebuild on the same site, it was, after all, everything that David had fought for. He deserved it.

Pulling himself to the rooftop next door was harder than Peter thought it would be, not physically, but mentally. He’d tried to prepare himself for the inevitability that Wade would not be there, but when he came to the reality of the empty roof in front of him it was like a stab to the gut. How fitting.

He should have known. Wade was working for Tony, for the Avengers. He was being paid to make sure that Peter didn’t do anything irresponsible, yet he had done just that. He had every right to be mad at him.

Peter lay on his back in the middle of the rooftop and stared at the sky. Clouds moved across the darkness above him, music played from a bar across the street. It was peaceful. As peaceful as New York city can be, anyway. Peter’s eyes tracked a plane on it’s way to JFK. The cold air was comfortable. Peter was tired.

\----------------------

“Spidey.”

“Ughhhhhh, I’m sleeping!” Peter was comfortable, the concrete of the rooftop was doing wonders for his back and the cool breeze felt lovely. Who was trying to wake him up?

“Baby boy.” the voice whispered again.

_ Baby boy? _ Deadpool. DEADPOOL.

Pete’s eyes opened straight away and there Wade was, in all his costumed glory. He was sat cross legged next to Peter, a bag of tacos in his hand.

“Wade.” Peter breathed. “I didn’t think you’d come.” Wade pressed a hand to his own chest, feigning shock as Peter pulled himself into a sitting position.

“And leave you alone? I’m your bodyguard, Spidey, remember? Couldn’t let you get into mischief without me!”

God, Peter had missed his voice.

“You’re here.” Peter sighed again. He smiled under the mask.

“I’m here, baby boy. I do need you to explain everything to me again though, I still don’t get it.” Whiplash, serious Wade was back.

“You need me to explain why I like you?”

Wade nodded. Peter nodded too, now that he thought about it he’d probably be asking the same questions if the situation was reversed. 

“You’re wonderful, Wade. You’re sarcastic and witty and so fucking funny. You never make me feel embarrassed or stupid or childish. I feel like I could tell you anything. You make me happy. I trust you.” Peter had pulled the bag of tacos from Wade’s hands and set them down, he repositioned the two so they were sat face to face.

“You trust me? After everything I’ve done? After all the people I’ve killed? After I broke my streak?” Peter couldn’t believe that Wade thought so lowly of himself. An idea formed in his brain quickly and he sighed as he willed his heart rate to slow down in preparation.

“Can you take off your mask?” Peter asked. Deadpool complied and looked at him with confusion, his brow furrowed slightly.

“I trust you with my life.” Peter continued. With that he reached back and pulled his mask off in one fell swoop.

Wade just stared as Peter ran his hands through his hair to try and tame the curls a little. He hadn’t been sleeping enough and he knew he must look a little sallow and tired, but it was the only thing that Peter could think to do to make Wade realise how much he meant to him.

“I’m Peter, by the way, Peter Parker.” He extended his right hand for a handshake, but Wade didn’t meet it.

“Wade? You still in there, dude?” Peter asked, Wade shook his head.

“ _ You _ like  _ me _ ?” Wade murmured after a few seconds of silence. Peter nodded. “But you’re gorgeous.” That made Peter laugh.

“And you think you’re not? Do you know how many times I’ve had to physically stop myself from staring at your smile, or your eyes, or your  _ hands  _ when we've been together? It’s been embarrassingly difficult. Do you know how many times you’ve made me blush? God, Wade, you have no idea.” Peter was a little embarrassed, he felt incredibly vulnerable with all his feelings out on the table like this. He looked down at his crossed legs, suddenly wishing his mask was back on so he had something to hide behind.

A rough finger gently hooked under Peter’s chin and pulled his face up until he was making eye contact again.

“Peter, you’re incredible.” Wade breathed as he leant forward and left a chaste kiss at the corner of Peter’s mouth then pulled back briskly, as if testing the waters.

It wasn’t enough for Pete. He leant in again until he was an inch away from Wade’s face.

“No, you.” He whispered and claimed Wade’s lips with his own. The kiss was slow and passionate, Wade’s fingers threaded through Peter’s hair and the younger man smiled into the kiss. He could do this for forever. The fit together perfectly. He was home.

When they pulled apart the two men could not keep a smile from their lips.

“You’re my boyfriend now, right? I’ve not read this wrong, have I?” Wade asked suddenly, the smile dissipating.

“Yes, Wade.” Peter giggled slightly. “I’m your boyfriend now. You should probably let tumblr know, people’ll go crazy.” Deadpool’s smile returned in earnest.

“Good. And I will, but after tacos, baby boy. People can wait.” 

God, Gwen would have loved Wade.


End file.
